SET UP!
by Kiseki7757
Summary: When TSAB discovers three new forms of magic, Section Six is reformed in order to face the unknown territory of a human Lost Logia. With a particularly mischievous new recruit trying to play cupid, Nanoha and Fate may find staying sane more difficult than actually achieving their mission.
1. Chapter 1, A Dream Come True?

Raising Heart, Bardiche: SET UP!

(With Appearances from: Mai-HiME, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Strike Witches. Which Characters? … This is a Yuri Fic… so which do you think?)

**Disclaimer:** Is this really necessary at this point? I am writing a **Fan Fiction** that smashes together four different shows, all of which; to me anyway, had far too little Yuri when there should have been more, or a rather unsatisfying conclusion to what Yuri there was. That being said, the actual owners of all these shows could probably do a better job at what I am going to be attempting… not that they would, which is more or less why I am doing it. Why else? Because I am a nerd, and a rabid Yuri fan, that's why! Any more questions?

… *Deep Breath*…

Now that that's out of my system, let's try this again:

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Mai-HiME, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, OR Strike Witches. I am just trying, and possibly failing, to write them together in the same universe.

**Warning:** This fic contains a gratuitous amount of Yuri. If there is such a thing, it will be achieved here. Caused partly by the ridiculous number of pairings that I'm cramming into it. If this isn't your cup of tea, then please, read no farther. Anyone who dislikes this kind of thing, reads this warning, ignores it, reads this fic, and then flames me for writing such 'blasphemy' will be ignored.

Also as much as I'm going to try and capture the personalities of the characters, you can expect a little OOC-ness. Such a thing is necessary in order to bend them to my will. *evil laugh*

There will probably be numerous grammatical (i.e.: punctuation) errors in this fic. I am new to this site, and as such have not yet acquired one of those wonderful beings referred to as Batas, and my understanding of proper punctuation is grade school at best. I will certainly try to be accurate, but my trying to be accurate may merely result in poorer punctuational grammar and paragraph placement... My spelling is pretty good though! In either case, I hope I can make this fic worth all the rambling I've done.

This Fic is set a year after Vivio Vivid. If anyone can glean some form of enjoyment out of this fic, then I will be happy.

*Is gagged so that the story can _actually _begin*

Chapter 1,

A Dream Come True?

"Fate-chan…"

My name was uttered as a breathy whisper, as her beautiful blue eyes stared squarely into mine. My heart immediately jumped out of it's rightful place in my chest where it dropped into my stomach, before violently ricocheting off my diaphragm, and shooting up to hammer rather painfully in the back of my throat.

I gulped.

I had been waiting fifteen long years for her to say my name with such longing in her voice. I had always loved the way my name just seemed to roll off her tongue, as if it was her favourite thing in the world to say. The way she was saying it now just made me melt. She was wearing her favourite pink pajama shirt, which as usual never covered enough of her lower torso to keep my head out of the gutter. And as usual I could feel blood rushing to my cheeks. I prayed that my nose wouldn't start bleeding.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered feebly, hardly daring to believe that this was actually happening.

Nanoha gave me a rather seductive smile. She crossed our shared room with fluid strides, her hips swaying ever so slightly. She sauntered over to our large bed, (which I might add had been testing the limits of my self-restraint for the past five years, after all Nanoha and I still did sleep in the same bed, even after we moved into to our own home.) where I was resting and enjoying an old-fashioned earth book. She sat on my side of the bed and frowned disapprovingly at the open book currently occupying my lap.

"Does Fate-chan find her book more interesting than me?" she asked with that cute little pout that had a nasty tendency of wrapping me around her little finger in under two seconds flat.

I still don't think either Hayate or Signum have completely forgiven me for immediately taking Nanoha's side after one of her LV1 (Now referred to as 'training') Starlight Breakers went awry, and removed **my **office, as well as a good chunk of the Special Investigation Bureau from existence. Nanoha argued that the sun had gotten in her eyes, skewering her aim. Hayate argued that teaching her students how to withstand and evade an attack that can easily destroy anything within a thousand miles, while aiming at something a thousand miles away from the thousand miles really shouldn't be a part of her regular curriculum. Sensing that the tide was turning against her, Nanoha; while standing in the smoldering crater that used to be **my** office, stuck out her bottom lip, put on her best puppy dog eyes, and said:

**Flashback**

"Fate-chan doesn't blame me, does she?"

I took a half second to glance at the smoking pile of ash that was all that remained of the mountain of paper work that would take me months to catch back up on. I took another half second to turn to Nanoha, fully intending to scold her for causing so much trouble, where I caught sight of that trembling lower lip. Another half second was taken to turn to Hayate.

"It wasn't Nanoha's fault." I argued. "It's all the sun's fault for being too bright and hurting poor Nanoha's eyes." I could feel a sudden anger at the sun for daring to cause Nanoha harm. Hayate just stared at me in disbelief. " On the bright side, I was just starting to think that it was about time to remodel my office anyway." Just then my chair decided to spontaneously combust, crumbling to ashes. The only wall in my office that was left standing gave up the ghost, dissolving into micro particles, and giving me a much better view of the giant hole of destruction that Nanoha had blasted through the whole building. "In fact why don't we remodel the entire building while we're at it"

"A second and a half for a complete and total 180." Signum commented dryly, the end of her long ponytail was smoldering slightly. "I think it's a new record, as for the damages? I'd say at least ten million, give or take."

"The taxpayers will be thrilled." Agito added, sitting cross-legged on Signum's shoulder. "Especially since it hasn't been all that long since the TSAB has had to use the 'SB' (That's Starlight Breaker) tax to pay for the damages. Wasn't it part of the main branch that got destroyed last time?"

"I tripped!" Nanoha shouted defensively.

"She tripped!" I shouted on reflex at the same time.

"You tripped." Agito pointed out sarcastically. "While flying in mid-air?"

"Hey!" I blurted on autopilot. "There's turbulence up there! It is possible to trip while flying!"

Agito rolled her eyes at Nanoha

"It's like you have her trained or something."

"…Nya ha ha…."

**End Flashback**

…Anyway, it was a pretty safe bet that as soon as Nanoha's pouting suggested that I could possibly find _anything _more interesting than her, let alone a silly book, that said book found itself with it's spine lodged in the wall right above my head. An occurrence that was mostly due to my haste in getting rid of it. Nanoha watched in amusement as a few bits of plaster fell from the cracks, littering my head with debris.

"It looks like Fate-chan still doesn't know her own strength" she commented as she climbed on the bed and started crawling ever so slowly up to me.

Of course my book then decided that it was time to take its revenge and obey the laws of gravity, dropping point down on my skull. It's plan was foiled however, as I was so entranced by Nanoha at this point that I didn't even register any pain as it bounced rather comically off the top of my head, before falling, defeated to the ground.

Nanoha gave a melodic laugh at the size of the hole the book had created, as she slid her hand agonizingly slowly up my leg. "…meh, the walls needed repainting anyway." With that, Nanoha brushed the plaster of my head, straddled my hips, and pushed my head down on my pillow

My heart promptly dropped back into my chest where it started playing squash off my ribcage. (Fate's Note: I think you get the analogy; my heart was pounding.)

"You know Fate-chan." She whispered huskily as she slowly lowered her head towards mine, I watched those luscious lips of hers form each syllable she spoke. "There's something I've wanted to do to you for a very long time"

The fact that she never wore any bottoms with her pajama top was for once a blessing rather than a curse as I could feel every inch of her silky smooth skin where it contacted mine. I opened my mouth to reply, but Nanoha, being the sly fox that she was, chose that very moment to grope my chest, so that:

"HHHNNGG!" was all that came out instead. I frowned, and swallowed a moan that was forming in the back of my throat as Nanoha continued with her ministrations. I took a deep breath, and forced a coherent sentence out of my mouth.

"What something?" I asked, … Wow. Shakespeare would have been proud. My voice was sounding strangled, and pathetically high pitched. Nanoha smiled lovingly at me and gave my chest another squeeze, before she started lowering her lips towards mine.

My eyes widened for a second before they fluttered shut. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. After fifteen long years of waiting, I was finally going to kiss Nanoha Takamachi! This was a dream come…. true? It was at that point that I could tell that Nanoha's lips had bypassed mine and were now hovering just above my left ear. I could feel her every breath, causing my spine to tingle pleasantly. I supposed that I would rather hear the confession first, before the kiss. Nanoha was just following the natural order of things after all.

"STAAAAARLIIIIIGHT!"

Wait a second! This wasn't a confession, this was about as far from a confession as you could possibly get!

"BREEEEAAAAAKEEEEERR!"

It was then that my 'SB' reflexes finally kicked in.

When Nanoha aims a Starlight Breaker at you, you have only two options:

Option one: pray to your deity of choice that Nanoha wants to befriend you, and isn't shooting at you with intent to kill, although no matter what reason she has to shoot at you in the first place, it is still going to hurt like hell.

Option two: try to get behind Nanoha. It is a proven fact that the safest place to be during a Starlight Breaker is behind its shooter. If you are in front of her, you are essentially screwed. Trying to dodge a Starlight Breaker is an exercise in futility… kind of like trying to dodge a wall a thousand miles long that is coming at you with speed and power comparable to a nuclear explosion. Thus getting behind her is the only way guarantee survival.

Naturally, I chose the third, far less dignified option:

"AAAAAUUUUGGHHH!" I yelled, flailing around with all the grace and poise that I as an Enforcer was expected to have. I scrambled out of bed in order to get out of the way… that was until I ran out of bed. It wasn't until I fell flat on my face, butt in the air, with Nanoha giggling down at me, that I realized that there was a mysterious lack of a pink beam of certain doom. I also took the time to mentally curse how reality was a bitch, an evil, evil bitch.

I was at the same time thankful that Vivio was already at school. The last thing I needed was her finding out that her 'graceful' and 'cool' Fate-Mama was nothing but a smoldering train wreck when it came to Nanoha. Speaking of the devil...

"Nya ha ha!"

Make that the White Devil.

I sighed heavily.

"Nanoha!" I complained. "Couldn't you have picked a better way to wake me up?" The White Devil smiled innocently at me.

"I tried." She said simply. "But you were sleeping so soundly, that I figured it was the only way to do it. It's never failed to wake you up in the past."

"Gee, I wonder why?" I grumbled under my breath. Nanoha laughed as I rolled over onto my back so that I could stare upside down at Bardiche, who was sitting on my bedside table.

"Why didn't you wake me up Bardiche?" I asked, still eyeing Nanoha suspiciously.

"I made multiple attempts to wake you, Sir." He replied in his usual even tone.

"See?" Nanoha pointed out smugly. I glared darkly at her, before rounding on Bardiche.

"Next time try harder." I grunted as I hauled myself to my feet, trying to save any dignity that I had left. As I got up, I knocked the bed against the wall. The vibrations rattled the bookshelf, which was placed just over the bed. Just as I stood up one of the books decided to take a trip south.

Point-five of a second later, I found myself on the flat of my back with a sizable lump on the top of my head. Looks like the book in my dream had finally gotten it's revenge… why did we even put our bookshelf there anyway!

"Fate-chan is out for the count!" Nanoha announced, clutching her stomach in her laughter. "And it's a one hit KO to the book!"

So much for my dignity.

Being very careful to not touch anything that wasn't bolted down, I slowly got to my feet again, grabbing the book on the way up.

'I guess this just isn't my day.' I mumbled to myself.

"Come on Fate-chan!" Nanoha called as she began rooting through our closet for her work uniform. "Today's the day we get a whole team of mages from Earth! I want you to come with me to meet them!"

How could I have forgotten? Nanoha had been excited about it all week. TSAB had recently become aware of three new types of magic. All three forms were earth based, and were not known anywhere else in the universe.

There was the HiME type. An ancient form of Japanese magic; which ritualistically manifested in twelve girls only once every three hundred years. Until it now had been kept hidden under wraps by a secret earth organization that had been trying to harness its power.

There was the Puella Magi type. A dark form of magic; where the newly awakened linker core fed directly off of the soul of the girls housing it. The discovery of this form also led to the discovery of the only mage, or 'Puella Magi' with divine-like abilities.

Lastly there was the Strike Witch type. A form of magic that relied on the (until now) exceedingly rare occasion where an animal familiar fuses with its master's previously weak linker core.

There had been a common denominator in the discovery of these three forms of magic, and it was also the reason why Section Six was being reformed. Nanoha was the only human alive to be classified by TSAB as a weapon of mass destruction. But the one who had brought these new forms of magic to the attention of TSAB was the only human alive to be classified as Lost Logia.

The whole thing is an unprecedented event that has everyone excited and terrified at the same time. As for me? The whole thing just gave me a headache… or maybe that was the giant lump on my head.

"Come On Fate-chan!" Nanoha's voice yelled up at me from downstairs. I snapped out of my daze, and realized that I must have been standing there like an idiot for quite awhile. "We're going to be late!"

"Coming!" I called back, taking the time to rub my sore head. I decided to take a quick peek at the title of the book that was the cause of my now pounding headache:

_Sleeping Beauty_.

… I hate irony.

…...

Well there you have it, chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to update as much as I can. I recently got a full time job, and I'm not used to the lack of free time. But the fact that I am actually posting this Fic (unlike the other ones that I've written) means that I am now honour bound to finish it. (Unlike the other ones I've written.) I've already started Chapter 2, and it's where the crossovers and OC's will start appearing.


	2. Chapter 2, New Recruits

AN: My best estimate, assuming that Nanoha StrikerS is set in 2014 (the year it would be if The first season was set in 2004) is that in this story it is currently 2018 in earthen years, and 0079 in Mid-childa, you will see in this chapter why this is relevant.

I may also throw some Mai-Otome in this story just to really make things interesting...or difficult to write. One or the other. I'll let you guys decide whether I should or not. Anyone who thinks I should add Mai-Otome into this smorgasbord of Magical Girls, please let me know in your reviews! ... Either way enjoy Chapter 2!

...

Chapter 2

New Recruits

Nanoha's lopsided ponytail bobbed up and down as she practically skipped her way down the halls of the base in her excitement. I made no effort to hide the fond smile that was plastered on my face, as I watched her merrily make her way towards where we were to meet up with the recruits, both new and old. My feelings towards the peppy brunette were no secret to anyone, except perhaps to said brunette. So as long as she couldn't see me, I was free to oggle her as I pleased.

Our friends had long since given up on trying to get me to confess, although Hayate and Shari still remained annoyingly persistent.

I had once caught Shari trying to install what she called a 'cupid' program into Bardiche. It was a recent invention of hers that would incorporate with both Bardiche's programing and the design of my Barrier Jacket.

Bardiche would be programmed to repeatedly ask Nanoha to go on a date with 'Sir' whenever he was within ten feet of her.

My Barrier Jacket on the other hand would more or less remain the same… aside from the incorporation of 'Fate Testarossa Harlaown Loves Takamachi Nanoha!' In big bold lettering on the back of my cape.

I had always known Shari to be nosy but this was on a whole new level. After I successfully snatched Bardiche off of Shari's 'operating table,' I asked her just what the hell she though she was doing:

**Flashback**

"It wasn't my idea!" She protested; the smoking gun that was the monitor depicting Bardiche's internal programming, no more than a few inches away from her face.

"Then who's idea was it?" I demanded, not believing her for an instant.

"Bardiche's." She replied, as if this was the most natural response in the world.

I stared blankly at Shari for a moment or two before I lowered my gaze to blink questioningly at the triangular device in my hand.

"Eh?" was the only word I could think of that could even begin to adequately describe my disbelief over this revelation.

"To be quite frank, it has become quite tedious to watch Lady Takamachi and yourself dance around one another and have nothing come of it." Bardiche explained, a hint of irritation lacing his usually monotone voice.

I stared stupidly at my intelligent device, completely frozen in shock. He could have just morphed into a square and I don't think I'd be as surprised as I was now.

"…Sir." He added after a brief pause. My shock disappeared, as all was once again right in the world.

**End Flashba-**

THUD!

I was jarred rather rudely from my thoughts as I plowed rather gracelessly into Nanoha, who had decided that now was the perfect time to come to a complete dead stop. So it was not for the first time that day that I found myself on my butt, wondering why it seemed to have such a firm attraction to the ground today.

I took a moment to get my bearings and realized that my daydreaming had led me outside where we were to meet the new recruits. As for flawlessly following Nanoha while my thoughts were elsewhere, that came as no surprise to me. I probably could have been lobotomized, and I'm sure I would still follow her to the ends of Mid-Childa and beyond.

Speaking of Nanoha, I looked up to see that she had an expression of complete shock on her face. Her cheeks were bright red and she seemed to be staring unblinkingly at something straight ahead.

I stood, brushed myself off, and then followed Nanoha's gaze to see just what it was that had struck the fearsome White Devil dumb. Once I saw just what she was staring at, my mouth promptly dropped open. Never in all my years of service had I seen anything quite like this.

It was a girl, about sixteen years old. she had short blond hair cut in a bob-like style with her bangs grown out to frame either side of her face. I could tell from her outfit that she was military, but there were two things about it that made the situation strange. First, while her uniform was clearly earthen, it seemed similar to the military uniforms that German soldiers wore back in World War II, which ended over seventy years ago! (Having attended an earth school until high school meant that I had a fair knowledge of Earth's history.) The second thing was the cause of Nanoha's and my collective shock, and it was simply that it was only half a uniform. There was a crucial part of it missing that I would only be likely to forget on a really, really, _**really**_ off day.

The girl wasn't wearing any pants.

No Skirt.

No Shorts.

NO NOTHING!

She was wearing panties.

But not pants.

It seemed neither Nanoha, nor I could tear our eyes away from the sight as the girl ran around happily without a care (or coverage) in the world. She seemed fascinated with everything around her, and reminded me of a kid in a candy store... a pant-less kid in a candy store.

"Trude! Trude!" she shouted excitedly, her happy shouting snapped me out of my daze, and I watched as she pointed up at one of Mid's multiple moons. "Look at all the moons!" Her uniform rode up on her body at the gesture, and I was mortified to see that her panties rode down on her butt, giving me a very good view of her-

"Crack!" She laughed happily, unintentionally finishing my thoughts for me. "Look Trude that moon has a big crack in it!"

"No kidding." I muttered dryly to myself, trying not to think about the fact that said 'crack' was actually a long crater that a poorly aimed Starlight Breaker had caused years ago. Mostly because thinking about the moon that I was currently unable to look away from, as having a large crater... just put my mind in places that it wasn't meant to go. Instead I resorted to just staring blankly as the girl continued to parade around in her drawers as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"HARTMANN!" An authoritative voice yelled, causing both Nanoha and I to jump. "This is not how a Karlsland Soldier should behave!"

Finally, a superior officer who could talk some sense into this confused recruit.

"Come on Trude, we're on a different planet! don't be such a party pooper" Hartmann whined.

I turned to watch as said superior marched up to her comrade…and immediately my mouth dropped open again.

Well, so much for that theory.

The superior officer in question was taller, and just radiated a strict aura of authority. Her hair was dark brown, and relatively short, held back by two ponytails. She wore a similar German military uniform to her companion (Whom she now had by the collar.) but once again there was a certain lack of any form of lower clothing, that made me wonder just what the military on earth was coming to.

In fact, glancing over at the group that she had stormed out of, it became clear that not a single one of them was wearing any form of pants. I suppose that was not entirely accurate, out of the eleven of them, three of the girls were wearing skin-tight pantyhose, and the smallest of those three was wearing a one piece dress… a very, **very** short one piece dress. Two of the group were wearing bathing suits underneath their uniforms, and noting else. The rest? Military uniforms from various countries but no bottoms. Just panties.

I twitched.

"Nanoha?" I asked slowly.

"Yes Fate-Chan?" Nanoha replied, confusion and shock evident in her voice.

"Is it a common practice in the military on earth to not wear pants?"

Nanoha turned to stare at me as if I was crazy.

"Of Course Not!" she blurted angrily, sounding deeply offended. "I have never known a single faction of the military on earth that would allow for such a thing! You can't even walk into a strip joint without wearing some form of lower leg wear!"

I raised an eyebrow at the unusual comparison, but given the situation, I suppose it made sense.

"Yeah, I thought not." I replied, returning my gaze to the pants-less superior officer as she dragged her equally pants-less subordinate back to their group. I paused, considering the time frame their uniforms seemed to be from. "…What about back in the mid 1940's?"

"Fate-chan! We Took The Same History Class!" Nanoha exclaimed. "You Were At The Top Of Our Class When It Came To The History Of Both World Wars! You Know That Isn't True!"

"I know." I agreed, sensing that Nanoha was getting understandably frustrated over the whole situation. "But…Well…"

Rather than finishing my sentence I merely gestured at the group of pant-less, clearly military, recruits, in an attempt to get my point across.

Nanoha sighed in defeat.

"Yeah." she admitted, as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I know... but I swear to the gods, if I _**ever**_ find the general on earth who was perverted enough to allow this kind of dress code, I will shove a Divine Buster so far up his ass, he'll be coughing up Starlight Breakers for a month!"

I laughed nervously, unsure as to whether or not she was serious. It was then that I noticed that one of the recruits was missing.

"Where did she-" I began, looking around for the missing recruit. Just then Nanoha suddenly went stiff. I cut myself off as I spotted something that made my blood run cold.

The missing recruit; a young girl of no more than twelve, was standing behind Nanoha. She was currently in the process of groping Nanoha's chest, a forbidden territory that not even I had dared to enter. I felt an overwhelming jealousy that this young girl had dared to touch **my** Nanoha in such a way. It was only the fact that she was a small child that kept me from introducing her to Bardiche's Zamber form.

"Hmm!" The girl commented appreciatively as she continued with her shameless fondling. "Not bad, room for improvement, and definitely smaller than Shirley's."

Nanoha's eyes darkened dangerously. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I could practically smell the magical power crackling through the air around Nanoha, as the feared White Devil slowly began to emerge.

"Raising Heart..." She growled through clenched teeth.

_'Stand By Ready' _Raising Heart replied, shifting immediately into cannon mode.

The young girl clearly did not sense any danger as she switched targets and began to grope my chest instead. At this something seemed to snap in Nanoha's eyes, as the danger level went from a ten to a hundred.

I gulped.

"Oooh!" The girl exclaimed, completely failing to notice the aura of impending doom radiating in the air behind her. "These are much better! Bigger than Lynne's and almost as big as Shirley's!"

It was then that I remembered that Nanoha had no such self restraint when it came to holding back on anyone, child or not. Panic raced through me as I finally realized that I was in the line of fire (which was technically anywhere on the base.) but mostly because the girl was groping me now, I was as much a target as the girl was. Nanoha had become so blinded by rage that she couldn't see anything but her target anymore.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH FATE-CHAN!" Nanoha snarled as her magic energy concentrated at Raising Heart's core. The girl froze at these words, and her face fell as she finally realized that she was in big, **_big_** trouble.

"Uh-oh." she squeaked, taking cover behind me.

"STAAAAAAAAAARLIIIIIGHT!"

"Hey!" A tall red headed girl in the group asked. "Has anyone seen Lucchini?"

"Guys." A light sandy blond haired girl added. "I get the feeling that we should duck."

I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself. My last wish was that I provided to be an adequate human shield for the girl, who was way to young to die now.

"I love you Nanoha." I whispered softly, not blaming her for this for an instant. "I always have."

"BREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAKEEEERR!"

And then everything was engulfed in a pink light.

...

Hehe, little bit of a cliffhanger to end this one. I promise you there is an actual plot line in this story... It's just taking it's time forming itself in my brain. I just write what comes to me, rather than planning anything ahead. Hopefully you will be patient with me, as this might turn out to be quite lengthy. Anyway, I'll get Chapter 3 out as soon as I can. Read and Review!


	3. Chapter 3, AlHazard

AN: And here's chapter 3! Thank you all for reading! I know it has seemed like I've been taking great pleasure in tormenting Fate…and in a way I guess I have. But don't get me wrong, she's actually my favourite character in Lyrical Nanoha, and I love her to death-

NANOHA! PUT DOWN RAISING HEART! I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY!

*Raising Heart is lowered, although the White Devil death glare remains*

...Thank you…

Anyway, I tend to tease the characters I lo- *ahem* like, but it's all in good fun.

Alright enough ranting, enjoy chapter 3!

Oh, and one more thing:

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fate-chan, she belongs to Nanoha. Fate-chan is trademarked Takamachi property. Those who think otherwise will suffer the wrath of the White Devil, and will be sentenced to ten consecutive, full power Starlight Breakers.

That is all.

…..

Chapter 3

Al-Hazard

To me, pink has always been an interesting colour.

At the same time as it is a soothing, beautiful and 'feminine' colour that has always reminded me of my beloved. When Nanoha wields it, it becomes one of the most powerful, and dangerous forces that I have ever seen. I have also associated pink with the biggest turning point in my life. Despite the pain I had to go through to get to that turning point, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Right now, with my eyes shut tight, pink was all I could see. I could feel Nanoha's energy all around me, kind of like being bathed in her colour. Instead of the expected excruciating pain of being hit with a Starlight Breaker at point blank range, I felt nothing at all. Perhaps I was already dead, and merely having an out of body experience. That would explain the wonderful vision of pink that was currently surrounding me. If it meant that I could spend eternity floating in this sea of pink, then maybe death wouldn't be so bad.

'_Absorption._'

I opened my eyes at the voice, and a sudden flash of gold interrupted my perfect world of pink. Slowly the golden light began to overtake and absorb Nanoha's energy.

"Holy Crap Woman!" a voice above me grunted. "How Much Power Do You Have To Put Into These Damn Things!" I looked up in surprise to see a girl about my age, blocking me and the young girl from the Starlight Breaker. A feat that I had previously thought to be impossible. Taking a closer look I could see that she was not blocking the blast, rather she was absorbing it into her own body.

'_Absorption capacity at fifty percent My Lady._' a male mechanical voice; presumably her device, warned. I took a closer look at the girl, and saw a large golden pendant that was attached to the back of the hand she was using to absorb the blast.

"Crap! Already?" The girl cursed, the strain of what she was doing showing clearly on her face. "Alright Al-Hazard, keep me posted!"

I froze.

What did she just say?

'_Capacity at seventy five percent._'

Al-Hazard; just that world alone brought back unpleasant memories, never mind the implications of hearing it being referred to as a device.

'E_ighty percent. My Lady, please begin Redirection to avoid further harm._'

"Come on!" The girl said through clenched teeth, ignoring the warnings of her device. "Realize who you're shooting at damn it!"

My gaze turned to Nanoha, whom I could just barely see through the blaze of golden and pink energy. Her usually vibrant blue eyes were glazed over in rage.

'_Ninety percent. Automatic Redirection will begin shortly._'

"Shit! Not Now!"

"NANOHA!" I yelled, hoping my voice could get through to the White Devil. The very instant her name left my mouth, I saw her eyes clear.

"F- Fate-chan?"

'_Ninety nine percent._'

"Oh my god!" Nanoha exclaimed, cutting the blast short. "Fate-chan! What am I doing?" The remaining Starlight Breaker vanished into the girls body, effectively keeping all of us from harm.

"Finally." The girl coughed, collapsing to the ground in a smoking heap. "Geeze, talk about overkill."

"Shirley!" My young charge shouted as she bolted out from behind me, running to bury her face in her redheaded companion's chest. "That was so scary!"

"Lucchini!" Shirley half scolded, half comforted, as she cuddled the shaking girl. "What have I told you about groping strangers? This isn't even the first time _today _that it's gotten you into trouble!"

"She's even scarier than the lady with the giant snake!" Lucchini sniffed pitifully.

"That is what a naughty Lucchini gets if she tries to feel up my Natsuki" A lilting Kyoto-Ben injected. I looked up to see two new groups of girls approaching us. "As long as Lucchini keeps her hands off my Natsuki's breasts, Kyohime will leave you alone."

"Oi!" A girl with long dark blue hair snapped at her chestnut haired companion, a blatantly obvious blush dusting her face. "Shizuru!"

Shizuru gasped in what was clearly mock hurt.

I was beginning to think that _I _was straighter than this woman, and as ninety nine percent of the people on this base knew; I was about as straight as your average rainbow on gay pride day.

"You mean Natsuki would rather be groped by relative strangers, than by me?" she asked, burying her face in her hands. "Natsuki isn't mine? Natsuki Ikezu!" her shoulders began to shake in fake sobs. Natsuki's face contorted in panic.

"N-no!" Natsuki stammered immediately. The speed of her attitude switch in reaction to this performance was quite shocking. "I didn't mean it that way! Don't cry Shizuru! Of course I'm yours!"

An exaggerated sniff.

"Does Natsuki really mean it?" Shizuru asked, her voice hopeful as she looked up at her friend. Her crimson eyes, (which were a colour very similar to mine.) shining with expertly summoned tears. This woman was clearly a master manipulator. Although I guessed that she didn't really have to be to pull one over on Natsuki.

"Of course I mean it." Natsuki replied in a startlingly soft and caring voice. "You're my precious person, after all."

Shizuru's face instantly lit up in genuine happiness.

"NATSUKI!" she shouted happily, jumping to hang off of Natsuki's neck.

Watching those two interact seemed very familiar to me for some reason, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it

Natsuki's brain finally seemed to catch up with her mouth, as her shoulders suddenly sagged. She turned to a girl with bright orange hair.

"She got me again didn't she?" She asked, Shizuru still hanging blissfully off her neck. I had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Hook." The orange haired girl began.

"Line." Continued an older woman with darker orange hair.

"And Sucker." Finished a girl with short reddish pink hair. "Honestly Mutt, it's quite pathetic how easily she can make you lay down and roll over."

"You stuff it Spider!" Natsuki retorted nastily. However her intimidation factor was greatly reduced, thanks in part to her bright red face, and giggling luggage.

I finally noticed that Nanoha had been very quiet through all this, I turned to see her rooted to the spot. She was holding Raising Heart in one shaking hand, while staring at her other hand with a mixture of fear and disgust.

"What did I just do?" she was asked herself over and over again, her voice trembling.

I instantly got to my feet, I hated hearing the insecurity and fear in her voice. I needed to take it away as soon as possible.

"Nanoha?" I called in my most soothing voice that said 'I love you Nanoha' with every word. My voice seemed to snap her out of her self-destructive thoughts.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha exclaimed, tossing Raising Heart to the ground and sprinting to my side, tears in her eyes.

She stepped right over the still smoking body of the girl who had saved my life and tackled me. The next thing I knew; my butt was, you guessed it, back on the ground, with Nanoha clinging to me for dear life.

"I am so sorry Fate-chan!" She wailed into my shirt. "Are you all right?"

I gently lifted her chin with my knuckle so I could look straight into her watery eyes. Using my thumb, I brushed away some of her tears.

"I'm fine." I reassured her softly. "Are you OK?"

Nanoha let out a noise that was something between a laugh and a sob.

"Fate-Chan is an idiot!" she managed before she threw herself into my arms, sobbing apologies into my neck. I could feel the expression of pure bliss creep its way onto my face, as Nanoha buried her face further into my shirt. This expression was occasionally accompanied by drool, but luckily this was not the case this time.

"I'm fine too, by the way." an annoyed and strained voice injected. "You know, just in case anyone was worried. Since, contrary to popular belief; getting blasted head on with an insanely powerful focus attack is not beneficial to anyone's physical well being."

I had almost completely forgotten about her.

I heard footsteps behind me, all three groups of new recruits had come to join us.

A fiery redheaded girl from the final group separated from her friends, and casually made her way up to the smoldering heap. She regarded the girl with an amused smile. A small fang glinted in the sunlight, barely concealed by her lip. The girl pulled a box of Pocky from her shorts, she then opened the box, and stuck one in her mouth. With a rather evil grin, she pulled out another stick of Pocky, and held it just out of reach of her friend on the ground.

"Want one?" she asked playfully, dangling the chocolaty treat in a very teasing fashion. Her friend glared darkly at her.

"Thank you for your generosity Kyouko," The girl replied sarcastically. "But you know I can't move, so how about helping me up instead?"

Kyouko merely shrugged, and stuck the other Pocky in her mouth as well.

"Suit yourself." she said as she walked back to her group, where she was immediately chastised by a girl with short blue hair.

"Does _anyone _else want to help me up?" the girl asked with a heavy sigh.

"I would love to help poor Kiseki up."Shizuru offered, making her way to her fallen friend. "Perhaps she will even reward me with a kiss!" I could literally feel the atmosphere change over by Natsuki, The bluenette shot a frightening death glare at the poor girl.

Kiseki shuddered.

"Alright, let me rephrase that." she revised. "Would someone (who's aid will not result in me yanking ice needles out of my ass for a week.) care to help me up?"

A few of her friends looked like they were about to volunteer, when-

'_Automatic Redirection in thirty seconds._'

Kiseki's eyes widened in panic.

"Okay, scratch that." she blurted hastily. "Instead, I need everyone to get as far away from me as they possibly can!"

I noticed that her face seemed to be turning pink. As a matter of fact, her entire body seemed to be glowing pink... a very Starlight Breaker kind of pink.

This did not bode well.

Without another word, Kiseki's friends took off in all different directions. But if what was happening was what I thought was happening, no amount of distance could save them.

'_Twent_y seconds.' Her device warned.

"Don't you guys have some sort of Starlight Breaker bunker or something?" Kiseki demanded, her voice laced with pain. I guessed that she was trying her best to 'hold it in'. Her arm twitched and I realized she was trying to raise her right arm instead.

I guess 'holding it in' just wasn't an option any more.

'_Fifteen seconds_'

"A what?" I demanded. tightly clutching Nanoha, and once again preparing to play the role of human shield.

"You mean to tell me," Kiseki began incredulously. "that you have a S+ ranked mage with an itchy trigger finger, and you don't have some kind of certified magic proof bunker in case of a misfire!"

"Uh...no." I replied dumbly. I had less than fifteen seconds to admit that in hindsight, a Starlight Breaker-proof bunker would have been a wise investment years ago, let alone now.

'T_en seconds._'

With another grunt of effort, Kiseki managed to lift her right arm, so that her palm was facing the sky.

'_N__ine_.'

"What are you doing?" I asked, holding Nanoha tightly, and covering her with as much of my body as I could. She was struggling against me, but my grip held firm.

'_Eight._'

"Aiming." came the quick reply.

'_Seven._'

"What good will that do?"

'_Six._'

"It'll keep me from vaporizing everyone on this base."

'_Five._'

"Fair enough."

'_Four_'

"My name is Kiseki." she went on, keeping her arm as steady as she could. "I am the human that TSAB classifies as Lost Logia. Nice to meet you."

'T_hree_'

"I'm-"

"Fate Tesstarossa." Kiseki interrupted. "I know. Your mother; Precia told me all about you."

'_Two._'

"What?"

'O_ne._'

"She wanted me to tell you that she finally made it to Al-Hazard."

Once again pink became the marker for a turning point in my life.

...

AN: Welcome back to SET UP! The story where every chapter ends in a Starlight Breaker!... Well, they all won't, buuut... hey look, some plot! I told you it would come out somewhere. The whole Al-Hazard thing just kinda popped into my head, so I decided to run with it. This fic is centered around Fate after all.

I am not in fact putting myself in this story, although my pen name may suggest otherwise. Kiseki is the name of the OC who has been in my fan fictions since I was writing crossovers about the Teen Titans, Inuyasha, and Avatar The Last Airbender. (which will probably never see publication.) To me, she has represented the evolution of my writing skills, and hence my pen name. I was actually planning to use a new OC, but considering that Al-hazard is supposed to be where miracles take place, I though Kiseki would actually be appropriate. (Kiseki is one Japanese word for miracle.)

I know it probably seems like not a lot happened in this chapter. but hopefully I can make up for it in chapter 4. Thanks for reading, and keep the reviews coming!


	4. Chapter 4, A Hat Trick Of Magical Girls!

I have been receiving requests or rather 'hints' as to which pairings to include in this frolic through the lily fields. So I thought it might be time to list all the pairings that you can expect at some time or another, from each show… This should also act as a forewarning to anyone who does not agree with a certain ship, although hopefully we're all on the same page... even if we're not, try to enjoy what ships you do agree with. Anyway...

Brace yourselves cause it's a doozie.

**From Lyrical Nanoha:** Nanoha/Fate, (Obviously) Tia/Subaru, Vivio/Einhart, Corona/Lio, Seig/Victor, Arisa/Suzuka, Signum/Shamal, Hayate/Carim, Caro/Erio, and Chrono/Amy.

**From Mai-HiME: **Shizuru/Natsuki, (To me ShizNat is practically mandatory) Haruka/Yukino, Chie/Aoi, Midori/Youko, and since I'm not a huge fan of Tate, maybe Mai/Mikoto I haven't decided yet. (Although with Mikoto, you'll always be getting implied Mai/Mikoto no matter what.)

**From Madoka Magica: **Kyouko/Sayaka, Madoka/Homura, (Both are mandatory.)

**From Strike Witches: **Eila/Sanya, (Also a must) Minna/Mio, Yoshika/Lynnette, and Erica/Trude.

**From My Imagination: **Kiseki/female OC

(I'd be willing to listen to any suggestions for the remaining 'unshipped' characters, or even someone to put Kiseki with. Please let me know in your reviews!)

I would also like to take this opportunity to defend Strike Witches. As a female, I found that the amount of fanservice bordered on gross, but I ended up watching the show because the characters are awesome, and the overall story is actually very good. I understand that many people would have objections to the show, but I myself am a fan, and I hope it comes across in this fic.

Now with that out of the way, on to Chapter 4!

...

Chapter 4

HiME, Puella Magi, and Strike Witches! Oh My!

Or

A Hat Trick Of Magical Girls

(I'm sorry about the title(s), but it had to be done.)

*Is Shot*

By the time the Starlight Breaker died down; the moon had a new crack/crater in it, and Nanoha and I had escaped relatively unharmed. I say relatively, because as soon as the blast let up, I stood up, taking Nanoha with me, and she lightly thumped me on the head for giving her life more value than my own.

Her strike was light, but her aim was lacking.

I highly doubt that she was aiming for it, but she managed to bop me on the sore spot that the book had given me. The sore spot that I had just managed to forget about.

I managed to keep my footing this time, but my headache came back full force. It was beginning to feel like someone was trying to drive a ten inch spike into my head... and succeeding.

"Ooooww!" I whined, clutching my head in my hands. "Nanoha! Couldn't you have hit me _anywhere _else?" Panic yet again flashed across Nanoha's face.

"Oh, my gosh! I am so sorry Fate-chan!" She cried, gently cradling my head, and softly trying to rub the pain away. I gritted my teeth in an effort to keep silent, and let her try to help.

Instead I let out a noise that was similar to a wounded puppy.

"I didn't mean to hit you there!" She continued, noticing the pain on my face. "Here, let me kiss it better!"

I had about a fraction of a second to register her words before Nanoha grabbed my shoulders to help her keep her balance. She stood on her tiptoes, and soon I could feel her breath ruffling my hair.

"Pain, pain fly away." she whispered into my hair.

Then I felt the gentle pressure of her lips on the crown of my head.

I noticed that the pain immediately disappeared.

Then I ceased to notice anything else.

In fact I didn't even noticed that I had passed out until I woke up with my head on Nanoha's lap five minutes later.

"So beautiful." I muttered dreamily, reaching a hand up to stoke her cheek.

And even then I didn't notice right away.

Nanoha's face flared bright red.

"F-Fate-chan!" She stammered nervously, her eyes darting to something off to my left, then back to me.

"Do you two always flirt like there's no one watching?" an amused voice inquired, bringing me back to reality like a bucket of cold water to the face.

I sat bolt upright, narrowly avoiding a collision with Nanoha's nose. I heard several barely suppressed giggles, and I turned towards the source of the voices.

Fortunately I had enough self control left to concentrate my blush into my ears as twenty four people smirked back at me.

On the bright side it looked like everyone made it back OK.

Once her lap was free, Nanoha; without even bothering to get up, turned away clutching her hands to her chest.

Kiseki; who was looking far better off than she had a few minutes ago, her dark brown hair blowing in the breeze, was regarding me with the same expression that a cat might regard its prey.

I swallowed hard.

"What happened?" I asked, hoping that my ears weren't as red as they felt.

"You passed out." Kiseki replied simply. There was an evil twinkle in her golden eyes that was making me very, very nervous. "And for the life of me, I can't imagine why. Have you been eating well?"

I tried to say something, but my tongue flat out refused to work. Instead I merely resorted to nodding furiously.

"Well then, that brings us back to my first question." Kiseki went on, not even bothering to hide the amusement in her voice. I could tell that she was enjoying herself, and judging by the expressions of her friends they were also enjoying this on some level or another.

I stared blankly at her. Kiseki gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Do you two always flirt like there's no one watching?" she repeated, her tone suggesting that she knew her question was very redundant at this point.

Once again my vocal chords lacked the courtesy to function properly, so I desperately turned to Nanoha for help.

Even from behind, I could tell that her face was bright red, although she was doing her best to hide it. She turned to face me, and the adorable expression she was wearing almost made me pass out again.

"D-does Fate-chan really think I'm beautiful?" came her hesitant reply, I could hear the uncertain tremble in her voice.

The blush contained in my ears instantly spread to the rest of my face, and her tone managed to free my tongue from its paralyzed state... but not necessarily in a way that was helpful to my communication skills...or lack there of.

"Erk?" was what came out of my mouth, followed by some other words that did not even remotely resemble human speech. Nanoha tilted her head questioningly at me, making her look very much like a confused puppy. Finally I could feel the muscle spasms in my tongue relax so I could finally get out some coherent words.

"Of course I think Nanoha is beautiful!" I blurted out with more force than was strictly necessary. "Nanoha is the most beautiful person I know!"

A moment's silence pervaded my outburst. Nanoha's face turned a darker shade of red with each passing second, and I suddenly wished that I hadn't said anything at all.

"...I think Fate-chan... is the beautiful one." she said softly.

I swear my heart stopped right then and there. After a few seconds, it eventually started up again, pounding so hard that I could feel it in every part of my body. I had been holding myself back for the better part of fifteen years. But with Nanoha's words, my self restraint almost completely disappeared. If she kept up this innocent, and adorable shyness, she literally had about thirty seconds before I jumped her. I took a step forward, this time nothing would stop m-

"Holy Crap!" Kiseki snorted loudly, her voice cutting through my lust hazed brain like a knife. "It's like a wall goes up, you can actually feel it in the air!"

Oh right... the recruits.

"A giant wall of ignorance." The sandy haired girl of the 'pants-less' group added. "It's like none of us are even here!"

"You mean like the giant wall that tends to form whenever you talk to Sanya?" Shirley teased, lightly elbowing her comrade in the ribs. "Well? Am I right Eila?"

Eila's only response was to turn bright red.

"Hey you two," Kiseki shouted at Nanoha and I, saving Eila from having to reply. "try to keep it under PG13 alright? There are children present!" Both Nanoha and I turned to face our audience.

"I certainly hope you're not referring to Lucchini." Trude injected sarcastically. "Her favourite hobby is doing what Harlaown-san looks ready to do now... except I doubt 'size appraisal' is what Harlaown-san has in mind. Anyway, Lucchini's innocence in that regard is far beyond repair. Not that I've ever known her to have any in the first place."

"I found Shirley's new competition!" Lucchini announced helpfully.

I looked down at my hands, and noticed that they were raised in prime 'boob groping' position. I whipped them behind my back before Nanoha saw them.

Nanoha's face turned a shade redder.

Damn it. Too late.

"You can't be referring to Mikoto either" the light orange haired member of Natsuki's group pointed out, as she ruffled the black hair of her shorter companion. "She's not really a child; naive maybe, but she's also no stranger to groping people... albeit only me, but still."

"That's because Mai's chest is mine!" Mikoto explained happily wrapping Mai in a hug, and burying her face in Mai's ample chest to demonstrate. "Just like the rest of her!"

"Yes, Yes." Mai sighed in amusement, Natsuki rolled her eyes, and Shizuru giggled.

"You guys are no fun." Kiseki pouted, crossing her arms disapprovingly. "Fine, I suppose we've been distracted long enough. Let's get down to business then, shall we?"

"An excellent idea!" Nanoha agreed way too quickly. "Can I ask everyone to line up in their respective magic types? We'll start with the introductions, then we can move on to a short demonstration of your abilities. I will be your instructor for the next little while. My name is Nanoha Takamachi. This is Fate-cha- uh, Fate Tesstarossa Harlaown...(wow that felt weird to say.) anyway, she's an enforcer with TSAB's Special Investigation Bureau, and my best friend."

"Right; off limits." Kiseki observed. "Got it!"

Nanoha shot her a warning look that would have made even the bravest grown men wet their pants. Kiseki suddenly stood very straight, giving a military salute.

"Ma'am!" she shouted, once again all business. Nanoha was famous for keeping even the rowdiest recruits in line... mostly by threatening them with Starlight Breakers, but hey, it worked!

I heaved a huge sigh of relief, as things finally seemed to be settling down.

"Who's got Instructor-Takamachi's device?" Kiseki asked, recovering quickly, and looking back at her group as they started to rearrange themselves.

"I thought Midori-chan had it." Mai piped up, regarding her darker orange friend.

"You mean that staff-like thing I tripped over on the way back here? The thing Instructor-Takamachi almost killed us all with?" Midori said in a very accusatory tone. Nanoha's face filled with guilt. "Yeah, it turned into a marble the moment I touched it, I've never seen anything like it!" she continued happily, her voice a complete contrast to what it was before. "But I think it fell out of my pocket or something, cause I can't find it!" Nanoha's face clouded with worry, but Natsuki eyed the woman suspiciously.

"So, you mean you don't intend to keep it for yourself to study later?" she inquired. Midori laughed nervously.

"Of course not!" She exclaimed hastily, scratching the back of her neck nervously. "Why on earth would I want to study such a marvelous piece of advanced technology?"

'_Thank you._' came Raising Heart's voice from somewhere on Midori's person. Midori jumped.

"Holy Crap! It talks too!" she exclaimed excitedly, removing Raising Heart from her jacket pocket, just in time to see the English words fade from the surface of the red jewel. "It speaks English as well! I simply must examine this fur...ther." Midori trailed off as she caught sight of Natsuki's death glare.

"Cough it up." Natsuki ordered curtly, holding out her hand expectantly. Midori sighed regretfully.

"Busted." she lamented, as she dropped Raising Heart into Natsuki's hand. "Me and my big mouth."

As Midori continued to grumble incoherently under her breath, Natsuki returned Raising Heart to Nanoha before returning to her group. Nanoha gave her device a small peck.

"I'm sorry for tossing you away like that Raising Heart." Nanoha whispered apologetically.

'_Don't mind, My Master._' Raising Heart replied. Nanoha smiled thankfully, before returning her attention to the recruits.

"Alright." Nanoha began, slipping into what I liked to call 'instructor mode'. "Let's start with the smallest group first... Which magic type are you?" A drill styled blond haired girl stepped up as a representative.

"We are the Puella Magi." she said, her voice formal. "Users of an ancient, and dangerous form of magic that bonds with our very lives. I am Mami Tomoe." Mami stepped back into her group, and Kyouko stepped up, yet another stick of Pocky in her mouth.

"Yo." Kyouko saluted, she was very much lacking in Mami's formality. "The name's Kyouko Sakura, nice to meet ya! I'm what you'd call a 'veteran' Puella Magi." Next up was the girl with light blue hair, who had been scolding Kyouko earlier.

"Try using some manners next time, you dummy."

Apparently scolding Kyouko was something she did often.

"My name is Sayaka Miki." she went on, ignoring the tongue Kyouko was currently sticking out at her. "Please forgive Kyouko. What she lacks in manners, she makes up for with her big heart."

Kyouko's face turned as red as her hair.

"M-moron." Kyouko said half halfheartedly, Sayaka merely giggled and ruffled Kyouko's hair affectionately.

I was beginning to wonder if there was a single straight girl in this bunch. I just wasn't used to suddenly being surrounded by my 'own kind.'

A girl with pink hair, and a certain almost divine aura about her was next.

"My name is Madoka Kaname." she said shyly, giving a short bow. "Please take good care of us."

As a direct contrast to Madoka's warm, comforting aura; the last member of the Puella Magi group, a girl with long silky black hair, just radiated a cold indifference that actually made me shiver. Her violet eyes held a deep pain within. The cold indifference was simply a mask, hiding her true personality.

"I am Homura Akemi." her voice was monotonous and cold. "Madoka will be in your care, and I will not forgive you if she comes to any harm."

So that's how it was.

I could certainly understand the feeling.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka scolded. "There's no need to say that!" Homura's eyes softened at her words, and she turned to face her friend.

"I just got you back." she whispered softly, the amount of love in her voice was overwhelming, compared to the previously emotionless tone she had been using. "I will not loose you again."

I was now positive that the source of the pain in Homura's eyes was Madoka. I had no idea what had happened, but whatever it was, it must have been horribly traumatic for the both of them.

"Don't be silly Homura-chan." Madoka comforted, sweeping Homura into a loving hug. "I'm not going anywhere."

I almost half expected someone to take a crack at teasing the two of them, but thankfully everyone remained respectfully silent. Not even Nanoha made any attempt to break up the exchange.

"Her eyes look just like yours did back then." She murmured sadly. "Such pain, and loneliness."

"That would make Madoka just like you." I replied softly, Nanoha looked at me in confusion. "You saved me. You took the pain from my eyes, and my life. Just like Madoka is doing for Homura now." Nanoha smiled softly in agreement, as I went on. "The only difference here, is that I think Madoka is as much the cause of the pain as she is the cure. But just like Nanoha, Madoka will always be there for Homura, helping her through rough times, just like you always have for me."

"I promise." Both Nanoha and Madoka vowed at the same time. I looked towards the pinkette who was gently stroking Homura's long hair.

"You were listening?" I asked, she smiled mysteriously.

"I can be anywhere, and everywhere at once." she explained, which to me, explained absolutely nothing at all. "But it's only thanks to Homura and Kiseki that I can be here in both body and spirit." before Madoka could say anything more, Kiseki interrupted.

"Details on that later." she said smoothly, I noticed that her face was a little red. Was she trying to divert the attention away from herself? She struck me as someone who would enjoy being in the spotlight. "First off, are you feeling any better Homura?"

"Homu?" Homura replied dreamily, lifting her head from Madoka's chest.

Nope, not a straight one amongst them. Not that this was a bad thing.

Kiseki looked as if she had been expecting that kind of response.

"Are you feeling any better?" she repeated patiently.

"Yes." Homura sighed contentedly. "Much better."

"Good to hear." Mai said with a smile before turning to Nanoha and I. "Shall we introduce ourselves next?"

"Please do." Nanoha agreed.

"We." Mai began, indicating her group. "Are referred to as HiMEs. It stands for **Hi**ghly-advanced **M**aterializing **E**quipment. Our form of 'magic' refers to our ability to ionize photons into physical matter. This power is directly proportionate to our love for another. This emotional energy manifests itself as our guardian, or CHILD."

"CHILD?" I asked curiously. "What's a CHILD?"

"It's kinda hard to explain." Mai admitted, before turning to her fellow HiMEs for help. "...Would anyone like to demonstrate?"

"I would be honoured to demonstrate the strength of my love for Natsuki." Shizuru offered immediately, Natsuki turned red but didn't say anything.

I noticed that as soon as Shizuru volunteered, everyone in all three groups moved to give her a very wide berth. A very, **very** wide berth. Lucchini made a point of hiding behind Shirley's leg. For some reason; at the time, it did not occur to me that there was probably a reason for this.

Shizuru was the picture of calm, almost eerily so, when:

"Kyohime." The word was whispered so softly and with such ease, that I barely even saw her lips move.

Then the ground began to shake.

Mid-Childa did not get many earthquakes, but I had experienced more than enough minor earthquakes living in Japan, to know that when the ground shakes it was generally a bad thing.

However, no amount of school earthquake drills could have prepared me for this.

The ground surrounding Shizuru broke apart, as a massive six headed hydra slowly rose from it's depths, steam billowing up around it.

"HOLY SHI-"

By this point, the swearing was involuntary. Luckily, the sound of thousands of pounds of earth hitting the ground in chunks drowned me out.

But on the other hand, I now knew what Lucchini meant about the 'scary lady with the giant snake.'

The serpent was easily fifty feet tall, and each neck was about the size of a redwood tree trunk. One of it's giant heads let out a guttural hiss that I could feel in the air. I took a moment to consider what a commotion the appearance of this thing might cause within the base. Something like this was kind of hard to miss.

"So." Nanoha squeaked as she gaped up at the massive creature towering over us. "That is a CHILD?"

"Indeed." Shizuru concurred, her voice radiating with pride. Yet another head lowered itself towards ground level, so she should scratch it under the chin. "The stronger the affection for another, the stronger the child. Kyohime here, is the purest representation of my love for Natsuki."

I stared up at the giant hydra.

The only thing that came to my mind was:

"Wow."

Now, I know size isn't everything. But considering how love grows rather than shrinks, (and the massive crater the thing had created.) I had a feeling that Kyohime's gigantic size was also proportionate to the strength of Shizuru's feelings.

I looked down at the scarlet-faced Natsuki, then back up at Kyohime.

"Wow." I said again.

"Kannin Na." Shizuru apologized suddenly, as she returned her attention to us. "I have not yet introduced myself properly, how rude of me. I am Shizuru Fujino, please teach me anything you can. I wish to learn how to better protect my Nat-su-ki." By now, Natsuki's face was only a few shades shy of matching Kyohime in colour.

"You're hopeless Shizuru." she sighed, before turning her emerald green eyes on us. "My name is Natsuki Kuga. I'll have you know that I won't listen to just any old teacher." Her tough girl attitude was falling waaay short of being effective, thanks to the current shade of her face, which was currently a very 'intimidating' maroon.

"I'll try to prove that I am worthy of your attention." Nanoha replied, just barely keeping the chuckle out of her voice. Natsuki smiled in satisfaction.

"Good!" she huffed in feigned arrogance. Mai rolled her eyes at Natsuki's behavour, as she stepped up for her introduction.

"My name is Mai Tokiha." She said bowing respectfully. "Please be patient with us...especially Natsuki."

"Hey!"

"The name's Nao Yuuki." The pinkish red haired girl drawled in a bored voice. "Just stay out of my way, and we'll get along just fine."

Nanoha's eyes narrowed, and I agreed with her silent assessment.

This one was going to need some work.

"Such a charmer as always." Midori commented sarcastically. "My name is Midori Sugiura, I'm seventeen!"

...

Seventeen wasn't a number I would assign to her chronological age, but saying otherwise would be very rude.

"Uh.." Nanoha began.

"Ookay?" I added. Midori opened her mouth to continue, but an excited Mikoto cut her off.

"I'm Mikoto Minagi" She exclaimed proudly. "I hope we can have lots of fun together!" Nanoha smiled.

"It won't be all fun, some of the training might be tough." she said honestly. "Would you be willing to stick with it?"

Mikoto seemed to ponder this seriously. Mai, however was one step ahead.

"Everyday you try your hardest, I'll make your favourite ramen." She offered. "How does that sound?"

"I'll work my hardest!" Mikoto proclaimed instantly.

Wow, that was fast.

The last member of the HiME, had remained silent ever since her group had joined us. She had messy light brown hair, numerous freckles, and cute olive eyes hidden behind wire-frame glasses. At the moment she seemed to be very depressed and lonely.

"My name is Yukino Kikukawa." Her voice was very soft and gentle, and I could tell that she wasn't a very outspoken individual. "I will try not to be any trouble." she heaved a sad sigh, Natsuki put a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"You can't keep moping over Suzushiro-san." she said sympathetically. "You're doing this to protect her."

"I know." Yukino agreed miserably. "but at least when she was at Fuuka-University, she was only a short walk away. Now we're not even on the same planet! We're not even in the same Galaxy!"

"Who is this Suzushiro-san?" Nanoha asked politely, clearly looking for a way to cheer Yukino up.

"She is Yukino-chan's childhood friend, Haruka Suzushiro." Mai explained. "They've been joined at the hip since Kindergarten. Even though Haruka-san is a year older and in university now, they are rarely ever apart for long. Haruka-san isn't a HiME, so she couldn't come with us. Haruka-san was less than pleased."

"She was against me coming here in the first place." Yukino sighed. "She was worried about not being able to protect me. But I had to come. I'm the one with the power, I should be the one to protect her."

"She sounds like a very good friend." I observed with a smile.

"I still wish she was here though." Yukino said sadly.

'_Incoming call from Lady Signum Sir._' Bardiche interrupted just as we were about to move onto the next group.

Speaking of which, Signum, and Vita should have been here ages ago with Subaru, Tia, Caro and Erio.

"Patch her through." I said, excusing myself from Nanoha. A video monitor blinked to life in front of me, showing a very, irritated looking Signum.

"We've got a problem."

...

AN: So...Many...Characters... Wow, that chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. I had to end it here though, as I have a few surprises in store for chapter 5, including more plot! But for now enjoy this linear progression of potentially amusing situations, (Along with enough Yuri fluff to make Yuri Goggles totally unnecessary) that when put together form some semblance of a story line. The Strike Witches will be introduced in the next chapter, along with a more in depth explanation of Kiseki and Al-Hazard. Keep the reviews coming, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all in chapter 5!


	5. Chapter 5, Stowaways

AN: Yay! chapter 5! This chapter is likely to be quite long. I have a lot of stuff planned for it, some of this stuff may end up carrying on longer than necessary since I like the events in my stories to be very detailed. I also think that having thirty or more major characters to keep track of at once is a contributing factor, but that I brought on myself.

That said it will be very hard to assume how much time has gone by when I bleach your eyes with descriptive detail, rambling conversations, and redundant explanations... In fact, let's just ignore the passage of time entirely, unless a specific length of time has been assigned to the event.

An example would be:

I have been rambling on about this stuff for five minutes now!...Or however long it took you to read to this point.

...

And now I'm just going in circles.

So without further ado, Chapter 5 awaits!

(Beware! Chapter contains plot! Read on at your own risk.)

Chapter 5

Stowaways

"We have a problem."

Signum's voice permeated our group with an immediate sense of dread.

Figures we'd run into another problem, nothing major had gone wrong since Kiseki had blasted another hole in the moon.

And that was only twenty minutes ago.

I still had a few questions to ask her about that, but first things first...

"Why?" I demanded, suddenly very worried. "What's wrong?"

"We've been held up by a rather belligerent individual at TSAB headquarters." Signum reported, just barely keeping to her usual even tone. I could hear a very loud voice ranting on in the background, but it was difficult to make out.

"A mage?" I asked curiously. What kind of mage could be a handful to six of TSAB's top AA ranked mages?

"Not a mage." Signum corrected, as if this fact alone was a great annoyance. "A civilian... A civilian, who REALLY SHOULDN'T BE HERE!" she suddenly roared at someone behind her.

I paused.

A civilian?

What kind of civilian could be a handful to six of TSAB's top AA ranked mages!

"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHERE I SHOULD AND SHOULDN'T BE!" A booming female voice shouted back, maxing out the volume on the video monitor. "I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE OF THIS OPERATION! THIS IS AN OUTAGE!" Six out of seven HiME eyes widened at hearing the voice.

"It's outrage, Haruka-chan." Yukino softly corrected on reflex. Clearly not yet realizing what she was saying.

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!" Haruka bellowed, this also sounded like an automatic response. "I- wait, Yukino?"

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino exclaimed, her eyes immediately lighting up. She sprinted up to my video screen, her depressed mood a thing of the past.

I merely smiled and moved out of the way

"Yukino!" Haruka shouted, shoving Signum aside so she could talk to her friend. I could literally see the vein bulging in Signum's neck. "Thank goodness! I've been looking all over this place for you! This pink haired parrot has been absolutely no help at all... Reminds me of the Bubuzuke." Signum's hand twitched in Levantine's general direction.

'Try not to hurt her.' I mouthed at my pink haired friend, the hand relaxed about a fraction of an inch.

'I will try my best.' she mouthed back, 'But if she headbutts me in the stomach in order to escape my custody again, all bets are off!'

I took a moment to admire the guts Haruka must have to headbutt the pink haired guardian. Signum is easily the most intimidating person I have ever met, and I'm _her _superior officer!

'What would Shamal say if you intentionally injured a civilian?' I silently asked. Shamal's position as chief medic for the base, wasn't the only reason why I knew this would force Signum to keep her temper in check.

Like me pining after Nanoha, Signum had been secretly pining after Shamal for the better part of fifteen years, and had met with just about the same amount of success.

I will admit I felt a certain satisfaction, watching as Signum's face coloured, while her mouth forced itself into a thin line.

'That's a low blow Tesstarossa!' she hissed, clearly unamused at my attempt at blackmail.

The major difference was that they had known each other for centuries longer. Emotions hadn't come into the equation until the Book Of Darkness incident. Now that they were there, they could be exploited, just like anyone's emotions.

'Fine.' she agreed reluctantly. 'But see if I keep quiet about what you say you want to do to Nanoha the next time you nap at your desk.'

I grimaced.

Touche.

Notes to self: Never attempt blackmail when your victim has just as much dirt on you. Also; no more afternoon naps at the office.

Taking a deep, relaxing breath Signum moved off to the side, so the two could have their talk.

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino choked out, happy tears already in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Ha! You didn't honestly think that I was going to leave you alone in the hands of these TSAB people, did you?" Haruka guffawed loudly. "What does that even stand for anyway? **T**otally **S**uspension **A**nd **B**ad people?" (AN: Hopefully I'll be able to replace this with a better acronym later.)

"It's 'Suspicious' Haruka-chan." Yukino giggled happily.

"Yes, that's what I said." Haruka agreed with a nod.

"**T**ime **S**pace **A**dministration **B**ureau." Signum growled out through clenched teeth. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing. I have never seen anyone irritate Signum this much, not in all the years I've known her. Apparently Haruka could try the patience of a stone

"Whatever." Haruka shrugged, waving her hand dismissively. "Point is, I'm not going to let these people lay a finger on you without my consent! They're not mistreating you are they?"

Yukino seemed unable to answer, instead more tears of happiness ran down her face as she just stared at her best friend.

Her best friend, who had traveled light years away from home, just to be with her.

'Best Friend' didn't even seem like the right word to describe that level of loyalty.

"They must be!" Haruka scowled angrily, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the tears. "What are they doing to you! I swear I'll kick every one of their asses into the next quadrilateral!"

"It's quadrant, Haruka-chan." Yukino giggled through her tears. "I'm just so happy to see you again! I missed you so much! And don't worry, they're treating me just fine. "

"You haven't started going through Nanoha's training yet." I muttered dryly under my breath.

"I heard that Fate-chan!" Nanoha snapped, as she was suddenly right behind me. I felt a foreboding shiver run all the way up my spine.

Me and my big mouth.

"So did I!" Haruka barked giving Nanoha a once over. "You run your troops ragged don't you! That's It! Yukino, I'm getting you out of this intergalactic boot-camp!" Signum gave me a look that plainly said:

'Nice going Tesstarossa.'

"I can't leave now Haruka-chan!" Yukino argued. "I need to become stronger, I can't loose you because of my own weakness again."

A low hiss brought my attention back to the other recruits. Kyohime, or at least one of her heads was wrapping itself around Shizuru, giving her something like a hug. I noticed that Shizuru's mask seemed drop, allowing her face to cloud with guilt. What on earth had happened with these girls? Has Shizuru stolen Haruka from Yukino somehow?

Impossible.

Shizuru was as devoted to Natsuki as I was to Nanoha, the chances of her straying seemed incredibly unlikely. I suppose the only other possibility could be if Shizuru had killed Haruka. But then how was she alive now?

I was very confused.

"I train my students hard, it's true." Nanoha admitted calmly. "But as long as they can face that hard training with a fierce determination, their true potential can be unlocked. From what I can see, Yukino has more than enough determination to make it through my training. She'll make you proud."

"Then you may as well let me take her home now." Haruka argued. "I'm already proud of her. I couldn't be more proud of her if I tried."

"Thank you Haruka-chan, but I am seeing this through." Yukino stated firmly, despite the blush that was dusting her cheeks. Haruka seemed to consider this for about a half second.

"Then I'm staying here too!" she announced as if this was no big deal.

"WHAT?" all the HiMEs shouted at once.

"What about university Haruka-chan?" Yukino asked, tears of happiness once again springing to her eyes.

"What's the point in university if can't even prove that I'm better than the Bubuzuke?" she replied simply. "I can always go back to school after this whole mess is over."

"You flatter me Suzushiro-san." Shizuru chuckled as the mask went back up. She gave Kyohime, or at least the head that had comforted her, one last affectionate pat before the gargantuan serpent dissolved into thin air. The massive crater in the ground was the only evidence that the hydra had ever been there in the first place.

"Civilians are not permitted to live on the base." Signum injected, taking on the role of the voice of reason.

"Then I'll join the military." Haruka said casually and without any hesitation at all. "Where do I enlist?"

"WHAT?" Everyone shouted at once.

"You can enlist at the administrative off-Wait, what am I saying!" I began roboticly. it was something I often recited to all possible recruits, and it had become second nature for me to say that whenever someone asked me that question. Fortunately I stopped myself before I did any more damage.

"Oh please no." Signum moaned.

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino gasped, looking horrified at the very idea.

Haruka seemed confused as to why we would all object so strongly to this.

"Now, now, let's look at this logically." Nanoha reasoned, still in full 'instructor mode'. "Which branch of the military are you hoping to join?"

"Uhh..." a reply that proved that absolutely no thought had gone into her sudden proclamation.

"Do you have any special skills that would help us find which faction would suit you best?"

"Bullheadedness?" Natsuki proposed dryly.

"An annoying amount of tenacity?" Nao offered at the same time, condescension clear in her voice.

"Obstinacy?" Midori suggested simultaneously. "And I mean that in the nicest possible way."

"Don't those all mean the same thing?" a girl with long red hair from the last group whispered to her long black haired companion. Her eye-patch wearing friend merely nodded then shrugged.

"Hey!" Haruka shouted at the HiMEs. Natsuki and Midori, at least had the courtesy to smile apologetically. Nao, however did not.

"A big chest?" Lucchini added, her eyes glued to the lower half of the video monitor.

Unsurprisingly, this comment went ignored.

"Loyalty." Shizuru advocated suddenly, turning all eyes on her.

"B-Bubuzuke?" Haruka stammered, she was clearly not used to being complimented by her rival.

"It is true is it not?" Shizuru asked. "Suzushiro-san is very loyal."

"Almost to a fault." Mai muttered softly.

"Especially to Kikukawa-san." she went on, ignoring Mai entirely, both Yukino and Haruka went bright red at this. "Is this not a favourable trait to have when in the military?" Nanoha smiled.

"Yes." She agreed with a nod. "Yes, it is."

"She's certainly good at arguing." Mai continued thoughtfully, Haruka glared angrily at her. "I say that, because it's something that TSAB could find useful, when asking for grants and the like."

"True enough." I agreed. "In fact we're gonna need someone who can help us convince the higher ups that multiple Starlight Breaker bunkers would be a really good investment." Nanoha's cheeks coloured a little, before clearing her throat a little too loudly.

"Well in that case." she coughed. "Stuff like that is generally Hayate's area of expertise, although she's not quite firm enough to always get what we need. If you're so dead set on staying here, why don't we get you to 'apprentice' under her for a while?"

"But-" Yukino began, looking rather alarmed at the sudden change in plans.

"Hayate doesn't go into battle very often." I interrupted, knowing exactly what Yukino was worried about. "She's our commanding officer. Even if she has to go into battle, Suzushiro-san would not be joining her. This way, there's no need to enlist." The brunette visibly relaxed. "Now where can she stay?"

"She can bunk with Yuuki-san." Nanoha suggested.

"NOT IN THIS LIFETIME!" Both Nao and Haruka roared at the same time.

"But Yuuki-san is the only one without a roommate." Nanoha pointed out. Although I had a feeling that putting those two in the same room would be akin to throwing a lion into the ring with a gladiator... one would eventually slaughter the other.

"My money's on Suzushiro-san." I just barely heard Eila whisper to Shirley.

Looks like I wasn't alone in my thinking.

"I'll switch rooms." Midori suddenly offered. "I was going to bunk with Yukino-chan, but I think she'd be happier sleeping with Haruka-san."

I don't think any of us missed the double meaning to that sentence... that is except Haruka herself. Yukino's face went beet red. Yukino's feelings for Haruka were crystal clear, and while it was certainly apparent that Haruka cared for Yukino very much, it was not clear if Haruka knew just _how_ much she cared.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on Nao-chin anyway, so it might as well be a teacher." Midori went on, confirming that she was not in fact seventeen.

"Don't call me that!" Nao shouted angrily. "And why should I have to bunk with you?"

"I need to keep Mid-Childa's men safe from you, that's why." came the swift reply.

"But I don't even do that anymore!" Nao protested. "I have a part time job as a nun for crying out loud! What more do you people want from me!"

"How about for you to practice what you preach." Haruka snapped. In response Nao made a very rude and un-nun like gesture with her hand, which Haruka merely ignored.

"...So! Is everyone clear on the sleeping arrangements?" I blurted, trying to disperse the rather unpleasant atmosphere that was brewing.

I received several nods of acknowledgement.

"Excellent!" I exclaimed enthusiastically, poking my head over Yukino's to get a better look at the video monitor. "Signum, why don't you take Suzushiro-san to meet Hayate, and explain the situation to her." as she walked back into the video frame, Signum looked less than pleased to have to escort Haruka anywhere, let alone to meet her master. However she gave a curt nod of acceptance. "Thank you."

"I will bring her to Hayate as soon as we receive news from Vita and the others, regarding the other three civilians who arrived with Suzushiro-san." Signum said with an irritated sigh. "I have asked Vita, Teana and Erio to contact you as soon as they are found. However, they have thus far avoided all attempts of recapture."

"You don't need to say it like that Signum." I commented, before a more important fact clicked in my head. "Wait! Did you say three other civilians?"

"Yes I did." Signum replied her voice full of annoyance at the whole situation. "They split up when Suzushiro-san used herself as a decoy, and showed me just how hardheaded she actually is." as an afterthought, Signum gingerly rubbed her stomach a few times. "And she is in fact **very** hardheaded."

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino gasped in shock. "Please tell me you didn't!"

"What?" Haruka asked innocently. "It worked for those Sears scumbags."

"Never mind that!" Mai interrupted. "Who else came with you Haruka-san? Not only that but how on earth did you even get here!"

Come to think of it, that was a very good question.

"I had to be here for Yukino." Haruka admitted with a sheepish shrug. "So I followed the green haired woman who came to Fuuka University to explain where the Bubuzuke had run off to. I knew she was one of you TSAB people. I mean; financial trouble my ass! The Fujino's wouldn't be in financial trouble even if the stock market crashed!"

I had a feeling I knew who the green haired TSAB officer was.

"...That would be a rather feeble excuse." Shizuru agreed hesitantly.

"I would have been more likely to believe some story of illness due to tea withdrawal!" The blond went on. "Anyway, once she was done with her announcement. I made some excuse to get out of class. and followed her to Fuuka high. She made a pit stop at Yukino's class, Kuga's class and then at the infirmary. Apparently, there were two people in Yukino's class who didn't believe whatever excuse was given for multiple long term absences. Either way, they both left their class, and followed the green haired woman along with me. When she came out of the infirmary we were joined by someone else. The four of us had a common goal in mind, so I let them tag along."

I couldn't help but wince, poor Mom. She was going to be in so much trouble for this!

"Wait, wait... _you__ let _them?!" Natsuki demanded, looking absolutely flabbergasted. "Who are you, and what have you done with the old head of the Executive Team?"

Haruka growled disapprovingly.

"You used to have such a long stick up your ass that I was surprised that you could even bend over." Nao added, also sounding surprised. "What about the rules?"

"Rules are fine and good when they protect who they are meant to." Haruka huffed angrily. "But when they prevent me from protecting what is important to me, they become mere annoyances."

"Now Suzushiro-san is learning what is truly important in life." Shizuru praised with a surprising amount of pride in her voice.

"Oddly enough I have you to thank for it Bubuzuke." Haruka grudgingly admitted, before continuing with her story. "As soon as she left the infirmary, she made her way to an empty classroom. The four of us were listening at the door, when we heard other voices, so I can only assume she was talking one of these things. Anyway, she asked for transport to the TSAB headquarters for five people. I thought she meant herself and four other TSAB loons."

My eyes widened.

"I think you mean goons, Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected.

She knew!

"Same thing if you ask me." Haruka shrugged dismissively .

Of course she knew, my adoptive mother wasn't a top admiral in TSAB for nothing. It would be an insult to her rank in the military if she couldn't tell that she was being tailed by four untrained civilians. What was surprising, was the fact that she had purposely brought her followers along with her.

To me, it made absolutely no sense. But then my mother had always been an excellent judge of character.

"Next thing I knew, we were all on this giant base in some far off galaxy. We stuck around just long enough for this woman to wish us good luck, and then we were out of there!"

"Looks like the former captain of the Asura has something planned for them." Nanoha whispered to me. I nodded my agreement.

Yes, my mother was a crafty one... either that or she was getting tired of her desk job. One or the other.

"So then... Suzushiro-san-" I began.

"Haruka is fine." She interrupted.

"Alright then, Haruka-san." I continued. "Who were the ones who came with you?" Haruka opened her mouth to reply.

"I_ncoming call from Vita, Sir._" Bardiche cut in. Another video monitor blinked to life, showing a triumphant-faced Vita, who had an unconscious bespectacled girl with short black hair... and a rather large lump on her head, slung over her shoulders. The fact that her burden was at least twice her size made for a rather interesting sight.

"I have captured one of the runaways!" she declared proudly.

"Chie-chan!" Mai exclaimed, before rounding angrily on Vita. "What did you do to her!?" Vita faced her accuser with a calm, patient tone.

"Not a thing." the little redhead stated, hefting her cargo up a little bit. "I found her hiding under Signum's desk of all places."

Signum's face suddenly went stiff... along with the rest of her body.

"She was too distracted taking pictures of the photo of Shamal in a bikini that's tapped under your desk to see me coming." Vita said not batting an eyelash, as Signum started to turn very red. "I surprised her, she jumped and hit her head really hard on the underside of the desk. She knocked herself unconscious."

Silence reigned for a moment or two where we all just stared at Signum, who was currently doing a marvelous imitation of tomato...

Make that a tomato with a sunburn.

"Well." Mai said, breaking the silence. "If Chie-chan is here that can only mean..."

"_incoming call from Lady Subaru and Lady Teana, Sir._" As if on cue, Bardiche spoke up again. Yet another screen came to life.

Subaru had a cheery looking girl with long, light brown hair bound with magic by the wrists. Subaru seemed to be in an unusually good mood. Teana, on the other hand, seemed to be somewhere between embarrassed and pissed off.

"We caught one of the civilians." Teana deadpanned, a residual glow of red was still visible on her cheeks. Apparently she had been blushing not too long ago.

"Yeah!" Subaru added happily. "She said her name was-"

"Aoi-Chan..." Mai groaned, more or less finishing Subaru's sentence for her.

"Are the binds really necessary?" I asked my second aide. Aoi hardly seemed dangerous, or malicious for that matter.

"It was the only way we could get her to stop touching everything." Teana growled, she was clearly upset about something.

"Mai-Chan!" Aoi greeted enthusiastically. The fact that her wrists were bound didn't seem to dampen her spirit much. "Have you seen this place?! It's so amazing!"

"We never went to the main base." Homura piped up. "We just came straight to Mid."

"You don't know what you're missing!" Aoi went on. "Everything is voice activated! Watch: Windows, open!" It seemed as if Aoi had forgotten that she was on a base floating in the vacuum of space.

"OVERRIDE!" Teana bellowed before the computer could acknowledge. She then turned to Aoi, looking very unamused. "You know, it actually surprises me how many times I've had to ask you NOT to kill us by opening the windows." Teana seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"WHY DOES THIS STATION EVEN HAVE WINDOWS THAT CAN BE OPENED PERIOD!?" she suddenly exploded. "I MEAN, IF SOMEONE WERE TO SAY THE WORDS 'WINDOW' AND 'OPEN' IN THE SAME SENTENCE-"

"Override." Subaru squeaked.

"EVERYONE IN THE ROOM WOULD BE COMPLETELY SCREWED!"

"Tea?" Subaru said shyly, lightly tapping her friend on the shoulder. "If what Senou-san said bothered you that much... we can just forget about it."

Taking one look at the hurt sadness in Subaru's eyes was all it took for the anger to immediately fade from Teana's face, it was replaced with a gentle softness that was reserved just for Subaru.

Meanwhile, Aoi was watching this whole event with stars in her eyes.

"No, I'm sorry Subaru." she apologized, ruffling Subaru's short hair. "It's just been so long since I've seen you, and everyone else, I guess I was just a little on edge. Plus it's been shockingly difficult to keep Senou-san from causing an explosive decompression wherever we go."

Aoi giggled innocently.

"What the heck _did_ you say?" Kyouko asked of the bound brunette. Aoi shrugged.

"I just said that the two of them would make a good couple." she replied. "Chie-chan and I have a good intuition about stuff like this." Teana's face went bright red again, but she did not say otherwise. Subaru's entire demeanor brightened at Teana's lack of protest.

"It is true." Mai agreed hesitantly. "They pegged Akira-kun as being a good match for my brother...and that was before we found out that Akira-kun was actually a girl."

"I would have preferred it if Akira-kun was a boy." Aoi pouted. "But at least they're happy."

"Matchmaking aside." I injected in an attempt to get everyone, (Fate's Note: including the author) back on track. "Signum, could you please bring Haruka-san to the base please? She can meet Hayate later on, but for now I think a reunion is in order." Yukino's face lit up in sheer delight, and even Haruka seemed to be having trouble being nonchalant about it.

"Excellent Idol!" She agreed, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I like the way you think! Alright pink haired parrot, let's get out of here!"

"Idea, Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected with this huge grin on her face.

"Call me a pink haired parrot again, and I will not be responsible for my actions." Signum said acidly.

"Whatever." Haruka dismissed happily. "I'll see you soon, okay Yukino?" with that, the video monitor disappeared, leaving a blissful Yukino in it's wake.

"How long have they been apart again?" Erica whispered to Natsuki.

"Less than twenty four hours." Natsuki replied with an amused chuckle. "With the way they're acting, you'd think it's been years."

"Like you're one to talk Mutt." Nao snorted, producing a file and going to work on her nails. "You do nothing but mope around as soon as you drop Fujino off at University, until the second you pick her up after school! It's quite pathetic really." as an afterthought Nao's green eyes landed momentarily on Homura, who was in the middle of swooning over Madoka, to Sayaka as she swiped the Pokey out of Kyouko's mouth, rather than taking one from the box that the redhead was offering her.

Eila was on cloud nine, as she was supporting the small grey haired girl, whom (based on Shirley's earlier comment) I could only assume was Sanya, as she had apparently fallen asleep standing up. Meanwhile Kiseki was eyeing a female TSAB officer appreciatively, as Shizuru advanced on Natsuki.

"Natsuki is just so hopeless without me!" Shizuru sighed dramatically, draping her arms around Natsuki's neck. "But that just means that I will have to be with Natsuki forever! Such a monstrous burden, but I shall bear it with pride!"

"I am _surrounded _by lesbians!" Nao shouted to no one in particular. I couldn't help but blush at this.

Guilty as charged.

Nanoha seemed to be fidgeting nervously, as her eyes darted between me and the ground.

"I know! Isn't it great!" Kiseki exclaimed, sneaking up behind Nao to goose her butt. Considering how much older Kiseki seemed to be than most of the others, I assumed that she was just doing that to bug Nao.

"Kya!"

"Jooooiiiin ussssss..." the golden eyed girl chanted, wriggling her fingers at Nao. "Joooooooiiiiiiiiinnnn uuuuuusssssss!"

The redhead rounded on Kiseki, seething with anger.

"Do that again, and I guarantee that you will join the land of the dead." she snarled. "You're just as bad as Fujino."

Natsuki's cheeks coloured. as her eyes narrowed at Nao.

"If you don't stuff it about Shizuru Spider," She warned. "I will shove that nail file of yours so far up your nose that you'll be able to buff your own brain!"

"Oi! Ice Queen, and Miss Attitude!" Vita shouted at the quarreling duo. "Knock it off before Graf Eisen and I come down there and knock it off for you!" Chie groaned, giving both girls a good idea as to what the small redhead may have meant by that.

"Vita, I need you to take Chie-san to Shamal." I ordered as the two fell silent. "Get that lump on her head checked out."

"What happened?" Aoi demanded, her happy mood gone in the blink of an eye. "Is she OK?"

"She knocked herself unconscious." Vita comforted, Chie's helpful groaning doing nothing to make Aoi feel better. "But don't worry she'll be fine. Shamal will fix her up in no time!"

"Once Chie-san is taken care of." I went on. "Please escort her here. Clearly these four are here for a reason, so all that's left is to find out what that reason is."

"Rodger!" Vita acknowledged with a salute, as the video monitor shut off.

"Teana, Subaru. I'll need you to escort Senou-san here as well. Once everyone is here, we'll figure something out."

"Yes Ma'am!" Subaru replied, taking Aoi by the magical chain which made up her bindings.

"And for crying out loud, untie her!" Nanoha blurted suddenly, Teana immediately removed the binds. "Thank you, she's a civilian, not a criminal."

"I wasn't really giving them much of a choice." Aoi admitted, suddenly seeming very subdued. "But I won't keep causing problems."

"So we'll see you when you get down here?" Mai asked, noting the sudden change in her friend. Teana and Subaru turned to leave the room.

"Actually Lanster-san, Nakajima-san... After all the trouble I've caused, I have no right to... but could I ask you a favour?" Aoi questioned softly.

"Sure!" Subaru replied. "We're civil servants, it's our job to help. What's up?"

"Could you take me to the infirmary first?" came the hesitant request. "I'm worried about Chie-chan." Teana's curious gaze turned into a soft smile.

"Looks like the two of you would make a good couple as well." she pointed out. Aoi's cheeks turned scarlet, as she smiled shyly.

"Yeah," she whispered as she turned away from the screen. "I know."

"Alright!" Subaru announced enthusiastically. "We knights shall escort our fair princess to her Prince Charming!" Tea grabbed Subaru by the ear.

"Laying it on a little thick, don't you think?" she scolded. Aoi giggled as Tea dragged a yowling Subaru out of the room. The screen went blank a second later.

"Well!" Nanoha began. "While we wait for news from Caro, and Erio, shall we continue the introductions?"

Kiseki's words about my mother surfaced in my mind.

All troops stood at attention.

"That would be us right?" Eila asked, indicating herself and her group. I watched as their uniforms blew in the breeze, routinely revealing their lack of lower dress. That was certainly an issue that needed tackling, but first...

"In light of earlier events." I said with a shake of my head, as my eyes landed on a certain golden eyed brunette. "I would like to get another intro out of the way first."

"Ah crap." Kiseki sighed heavily. "Well, I suppose we can't put it off forever. Alright Tesstarossa-san, ask away."

"Tesstarossa _Harlaown._" I corrected stiffly. "It's Tesstarossa _Harlaown_." Kiseki smiled gently.

"Your Mother would be happy that you found a family that loves you the way you deserved to loved." she said, I had to keep myself from snorting out loud.

"My mother hated me!" I found myself shouting, old wounds that had been healing for the past fifteen years, reopened and immediately started to fester. Nanoha came up behind me, and rested a comforting hand on my shoulder. "She made a point of telling me so multiple times before she and Alicia descended into oblivion!" There were tears in my eyes, but I merely blinked them away. "I spent every moment of my life before she died, trying to make her happy! SO HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD MAKE MY MOTHER HAPPY!?" Nanoha wrapped her arms around me as I broke down. Emotions long since buried were raging through me like wildfire. If it wasn't for Nanoha, I would have been on my knees.

"Because she told me that she hoped that you had found happiness." Kiseki replied, and I could hear the sincerity in her voice. "I told you didn't I? That she made it to Al-Hazard after all?" The golden pendant on the back of her hand glinted in the sunlight.

I took a moment to compose myself before I spoke again.

"Who are you really?" I asked, my voice thick and hoarse. "TSAB calls you the only human Lost Logia. But is that all you are?"

"I am classified as a Lost Logia, yes." Kiseki agreed with a short nod. "Officially, however I am known as the keeper of Al-Hazard."

I couldn't help but feel skeptical that the keeper of the lost world that my mother had given her life to find, was standing no more than three feet in front of me.

"If you truly are the keeper of Al-Hazard," I tested. "then where can I find it?" Kiseki, however didn't miss a beat.

"Right here." she replied, raising her right hand to show me her device.

'_Pleased to make your acquaintance,_' The device greeted politely.

"This." Kiseki continued, pointing to the golden pendant. "Is Al-Hazard. All the knowledge, all the technology, all that was Al-Hazard rests within this device."

"I don't understand." I said, this being the understatement of the century. "How can Al-Hazard be a device? I thought it was an ancient civilization."

"It was," The golden eyed brunette agreed. "centuries and centuries ago. It was the most advanced civilization of its time, both in terms of magical and scientific advances... If you wish I can tell you the true story of Al-Hazard, shall we all take a seat?"

I nodded, and everyone more or less sat where they stood. Nanoha pulled me onto her lap, perhaps feeling that I would need emotional support for this.

"As you are no doubt aware." Kiseki began, as she took a seat on the grass as well. "Al-Hazard is a legend even in modern times due to it's magical and scientific achievements, that is of course until it was supposedly destroyed by those very same achievements. This is of course only half of the story.

Al-Hazard had many brilliant scientists at their disposal, one of whom was responsible for some of their greatest medical discoveries. She had discovered a cure for just about any conceivable illness, except for the one that infected and eventually killed the woman she loved.

After her lover's death, she became obsessed with trying to discover a new application for magic that could alter the very laws of life and death. I'm sure you are very familiar with what she was trying to achieve._**"**_

Yes, I was familiar with it. The very reason I was alive today was because of a 'failed' attempt to replicate that mythical technology.

"The ability to bring back the dead." I whispered.

Kiseki nodded.

Why was it that no matter where I went in life, that desire seemed to follow me like a curse? I suppose being a direct result of that desire didn't help much, but still...

Nanoha took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

'I'm here for you.' is what she was telling me.

"As you know." she went on. "The number and kinds of dimensions are infinite, and out of those limitless dimensions, there is only one where the souls of the dead go to rest. It stood to reason that if one could transcend dimensions, one could reach the land of the dead."

"But didn't that technology already exist at the time?" Nanoha inquired as she absently stoked my hair. "We use it all the time here in Mid."

Long brown hair swayed back and forth as its owner shook her head.

"Transcending the universe; while still an amazing feat, is still a far cry from traveling to different dimensional planes." she explained. "Especially when the dimension you are trying to reach is the land of the dead. The amount of magical energy required was enormous, and the possibility of things going wrong was far higher."

"So did they succeed?" I asked, desperately trying to piece together where all this was going. I felt this overwhelming need to know if my mother had driven herself to insanity for nothing but another 'failed' attempt at rewriting the laws of life.

"They did indeed." Kiseki confirmed, catching everyone by surprise. "My pendant was the result of years of research and experimentation. As long as the user had enough magical power to survive the trip, they could travel to any dimension at will, including the land of the dead.

It was by far Al-Hazard's greatest discovery. The day that the scientist made the first trip to the land of the dead to retrieve the soul of her lover, was the day that Al-Hazard became known as a land of miracles. However the scientist never returned."

"Well then how did they know that she made it there in the first place?" Mami asked, sounding as confused as I felt.

"Because her lover did return." came the sad reply. "As alive as the days before she fell ill. The ability to bring back the dead comes with a price. The dimension where the dead dwell is not a place that is meant to be left. As such; under what I will loosely call 'normal circumstances' the one who travels to the land of the dead, essentially goes to take the place of the chosen deceased. Suffice to say, the device's first success was also it's last for many, many years."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Fear mostly." Kiseki explained, "There were not too many people who were willing to exchange their own lives for someone who was already dead. But the other reason was that the pendant fused with the woman's body on the return trip."

My eyes darted to the back of Kiseki's right hand. Come to think of it, there didn't seem to be anything holding the pendant on her hand... in fact the golden gem almost seemed to be a part of her skin.

I felt my mouth go dry.

No way.

"By the gods!" Nanoha gasped, coming to the same conclusion I did. "You're-"

Kiseki smiled sadly.

"Correct." she said. "The one that Chiyo gave her life for; was me."

...

AN: Well there you have it, confused yet?

I hope I can adequately write out this vague concept that is in my head in a way that everyone can understand. It's a little difficult when said concept still hasn't completely formed itself yet, but it's certainly gives my writing skills a run for their money...

I have also noticed that I tend to come up with some of my better plot ideas while I'm folding laundry at work.

Go figure.

Holy crap! That got a lot longer than I thought it would. Hopefully you will find the chapter worth the long wait.

I guess I also lied about introducing the Strike Witches, but this was going to be a **really **long chapter if I included it and the other half of Kiseki's back story, so I decided to put it off a chapter.

I hope you are all still enjoying this story, keep the reviews coming, and see you in Chapter 6!


	6. Chapter 6, Into the Past

Chapter 6,

Into The Past

Absolute silence followed Kiseki's proclamation.

I was busy trying to wrap my head around all this. Everything in my mind was telling me that it was impossible, but at the same time I wanted so desperately to know that it was true. That it was possible for the dead to come back to life. I suppose even now, I still wanted to make my mother's wishes come true. But by the sounds of things, Precia had made it to Al-Hazard without my help.

I was still a little unclear as to what that meant exactly, but I couldn't bring myself to ask just yet.

I think that learning that Kiseki was the universe's first human to be revived from the dead had struck us all dumb.

"Wait, hang on!" Nanoha finally blurted, breaking the silence. "Al-Hazard was destroyed centuries ago! How can you possibly still be alive after all this time?"

Kiseki smiled wryly.

"Oddly enough those are both of the reasons as to why I am classified as a Lost Logia in the first place." she chuckled softly. "I died almost a thousand years ago in my early twenties. Chiyo brought me back to life ten years later... on the very same day that Al-Hazard met it's end."

"That still doesn't answer either question." I pointed out.

"I was getting to it." Kiseki replied patiently. "I was born with the unique ability to absorb any kind of energy into my body, Make it my own and use it at will. That skill also includes the absorption of diseases. I was hailed as a cure for any disease, however there was no curing the disease, all I was doing was transferring the disease from the patient to myself.

I gave my services to the hospitals of Al-Hazard, and spent the better part of my teen years seriously ill with everything from pneumonia to cancer. Since I could recover on my own, I was rarely ever given any treatment unless I worsened to being on the point of death."

"How the hell would you survive something like cancer?" Natsuki demanded incredulously.

"My Linker Core was naturally built to be able to change or neutralize the properties of the energy absorbed into my body." Kiseki explained. "Whenever I absorbed an illness my Linker Core would produce magically enhanced antibodies which could fight off just about any disease. I would be stuck in bed for a week or two, depending on the illness, but I would always recover.

The more I absorb an illness, the stronger and more efficient those special antibodies get. Eventually they will get strong enough to completely eliminate the illness the very instant it entered my body. I've absorbed so many head colds over the years that I don't even get them anymore!"

"That certainly is impressive." I admitted, trying very hard to keep the impatience I was currently feeling out of my voice. "But is there a point to all thi-"

"So is there any disease that can kill you?" Kyouko interrupted, her red eyes shining with interest. Kiseki's golden eyes rested on me for a moment, giving me an expression that said 'in due time.' I crossed my arms, leaned back against Nanoha and pouted grumpily. Nanoha's airy laughter ruffled the hair on the crown of my head.

"Patience Fate-Chan." she whispered soothingly, rubbing the tension out of my shoulders. My pout immediately turned into a very dopey blissful smile. (Drool not included.) Kiseki noticed this, her eyes twinkling mischievously before continuing.

There is one disease that can kill me, certainly more efficiently now than a thousand years ago. Anyway, the only disease that can truly kill me is..." Everyone leaned forward in anticipation. Kiseki paused, frowning as her forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"Is..." We all leaned forward a little more, awaiting the dramatic reveal.

"You know what? I can't even begin to pronounce the name," Kiseki laughed, sheepishly scratching the back of her head. Immediately killing the tense atmosphere. "So how about I describe it instead?"

(Kiseki's Note: This is just an excuse, since the author can't come up with a name for it that isn't ridiculously corny. So instead, she's just gonna make me look like an idiot. That said, any clever suggestions would be welcomed.)

"Please do." Mami requested eagerly. Clearly she wasn't feeling the anti-climatic let down that the rest of us were.

Kiseki glanced back at me for a moment. I guessed that she was seeking my permission to continue. As impatient as I was to get to the true meaning behind all of this, I had to admit, I was very curious.

I nodded. Kiseki nodded back and cleared her throat.

"It is a virus that attacks and destroys a mage's Linker Core first, before it goes after the immune system. The more magic a mage uses, the faster it'll attacks the Linker Core. A mage can slow the process by reducing the amount of magic used. In my case, since my Linker Core produces magically enhanced antibodies automatically, it can kill me much faster than it could any other mage. Either way, once you have the disease, you're essentially dead."

"Wasn't that a biological weapon created by the people of Al-Hazard for use in warfare?" Nanoha asked, and I silently agreed. I had heard many horror stories as to how it could slowly kill any mage in the most painful, complete way imaginable.

"It was created by Al-Hazard scientists, that much is true." Kiseki confirmed. "However it was created to keep me 'under control' as it were.

Years before my death, I had threatened the lives of several of their staff, for… certain reasons. As a manipulator of energy, it was not beyond my capability to drain life energy from anyone, my 'employers' were no exception. The virus was created in retaliation to my little rebellion, calling it a biological weapon for military use was merely to obtain government funding for the research and development.

During the time spent working on this virus, I had met Chiyo. With the help of my special antibodies, she was able to develop true cures for just about every disease that I had ever absorbed. We spent a lot of time together, and grew very close.

Since my services were no longer needed, I was allowed to return to a normal healthy life. It also meant that the researchers could no longer make money off of me, thoughts of using the virus for control, were abandoned in favour of using it for revenge."

"So they just killed you?" Eila demanded sounding utterly disgusted. Kiseki smiled grimly.

"If only it were that simple." She sighed sadly. "You see, by the time the virus was ready, my own life was not what I cared most about. So they figured; may as well kill two birds with one stone. Chiyo was the one who had rendered me 'useless' after all. Either way no matter who they infected, we were both going to suffer. No matter who got sick, they knew I was going to be the one to die.

So they decided to do it in the way which would cause Chiyo to suffer the most."

"By infecting her with it right?" I guessed.

Seems like the so-called 'Paradise' of Al-Hazard had its share of dark minds.

"Indeed." Kiseki agreed. "The virus works very slowly, and in a way that can make it difficult to detect. It was only when Chiyo's health started to decline that I noticed that something was up. She refused to tell me what was wrong, and she even 'broke up' with me for a while just to make sure I couldn't heal her. I refused to leave her to suffer alone, and she eventually let me back into her life, so long as I swore to her that I would not attempt to cure her. So I had to resign myself to watching her die a slow painful death. She made me promise to not heal her, she never made me promise to do nothing once she died... Probably because she didn't know I **could** do something once she died."

"You could do something once she died!?" I exclaimed, shock quite evident in my voice. "Like what?"

"I told you didn't I?" Kiseki replied with a question of her own. "That I can not only absorb energy, but I can transfer it to someone else if I so desire. My own life energy was no exception. It is not an ability that I had ever intended to use, but Chiyo was more important to me than my own life, and so I gave it to her. At the same time that I was draining my own life into Chiyo, I was also absorbing the remainder of the virus from her body. Chiyo's heart had barely been still for a minute before it started back up again. My life ended shortly afterwards. Things only got worse for the both of us from then on."

"What happened?" Sayaka asked curiously.

"My death changed Chiyo. J-"

"There's no need to sugar coat it!" Nao interrupted loudly. "You mean she went nuts, wacko, insane!" I was overcome with an urge to smack the redhead upside the head for being so inconsiderate. Thankfully Natsuki, Mai, and Midori took care of that for me. One after the other.

_Thwap!_

"Ow! Hey! Watch i-"

_Smack__!_

"Ouch! Seriously guys! What the fu-"

_Thud!_

"AUGH! Damn it Kuga! You did it that hard on purpose!"

"Moron." The three girls sighed as Nao cradled her now thoroughly abused head.

"Is Yukki-san through with interrupting?" Shizuru asked sweetly. For some reason I felt a shiver run down my spine, judging by the expression on Nao's face, she was feeling something similar.

"Fine Fujino, I'll be good." Nao complied grudgingly. "Just keep your rabid mutt and her giant paws away from my skull!"

"Are you saying my hands are big?" Natsuki demanded angrily. Nanoha cleared her throat loudly, something that never failed to stop any conversation in it's tracks.

"Kuga-san, your hands are perfectly feminine." she assured, impatience tinging the edge of her voice.

"Thank you!" Natsuki replied gratefully."...Hey, wait a minute!" Nanoha merely shot her an annoyed look, and any other words seemed to die in the bluenette's throat.

"Now, shall we allow Kiseki-san to continue?" Nanoha suggested. Kiseki smiled at Nanoha in thanks, and I felt the slightest hint of jealousy flare up in the back of my mind as I felt Nanoha smile back.

"Anyway, as I was trying to say; My death changed Chiyo, just as Alicia's death changed Precia." She continued, effectively proving that she had indeed met with my mother. How else would she know Alicia's name? "She became obsessed not only with bringing me back, but also ensuring that she would never lose me again. In the years she spent trying to bring me back, she also discovered a way to artificially replicate my ability to a certain extent. Basically she programmed Al-Hazard to automatically convert a certain percentage of magical energy from my linker core to life energy. Not only does this seriously inhibit the amount of energy I can absorb at one time but it also means..."

"That Chiyo knew that the device would fuse to you in the first place!" Nanoha finished. "She never intended for anyone else to use it!" Kiseki nodded.

"My heart stopped beating centuries ago." she said, a hint of regret laced in her voice. "Now, my Linker Core beats in it's place. Since my life depends on something that does not age, nor decay, I do not age and I cannot die. Unless either the pendant or my Linker Core are destroyed I will continue to live, whether I want to or not. I have wanted to return to death since the day Chiyo brought me back. It isn't worth living without her."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. None of this was making a pick of sense to me... What on earth did all this have to do with her classification as a Lost Logia?...Or my mother? "If you wanted to die, then why not just destroy the pendant yourself?"

I winced.

That sounded a lot harsher and crueler than I had intended.

...Stupid, irrational jealousy.

"Because if I do, I will ensure the true destruction of Al-Hazard." Kiseki explained. "So long as I live, Al-Hazard can be saved. If I die, then the lost world of Al-Hazard will die along with me."

"Wait, wait, wait!" I exploded in frustration. "What the hell are you talking about? Al-Hazard was destroyed wasn't it!?"

"It was. In a sense." Kiseki said, guilt heavy in her voice. "And I was the one who destroyed it."

...Silence

"WHAT!?" We all shouted at once. To say that was unexpected would be an understatement.

"That is why I am classified as a Lost Logia." she said softly. "I am an 'ancient weapon' of tremendous power, that is the cause for the destruction one of the most advanced civilizations of all time. I have deep ties to Ancient Belka, and I am also the only key to restoring Al-Hazard to it's former glory."

'Yeah, that about covers all the criteria.' I thought dryly to myself.

"Hold on, back up!" Nanoha interrupted. "How did you destroy Al-Hazard in the first place?"

"When I returned to the living, and realized what Chiyo had done, I fell into despair." Kiseki recalled, the memory causing tears to come to her eyes. "I lost touch with sanity. I don't remember much of what happened during that time, but the next thing I knew my device had automatically transferred me to Ancient Belka, after I had sent the entire world of Al-Hazard to the realm of the dead.

As a result the spiritual realm of the dead, and the physical world of Al-Hazard have mixed into some sort of limbo, where no one is truly alive or dead.

It has become a horrible place of eternal torture, where no soul can rest in peace. A true hell in every sense of the word.

However, due to the line between life and death becoming blurred, it has also become possible to bring a soul back from the dead without sacrificing your own life. So long as your mind is strong enough to not be broken by the horrors there. I cannot die, until I save both Al-Hazard and Chiyo. So I will continue to live, no matter how long it takes."

"I think I would have gone insane about nine hundred years ago" Hartmann commented sarcastically. Kiseki laughed wryly.

"I went insane over a thousand years ago." she pointed out. "And I whipped out my entire home world in the process. Insanity; while it's often an attractive alternative to me just isn't an option. I renamed my device to remind me of my goal. That alone has kept me sane all these years."

"So why then did you bring all of us together?" Nanoha asked. "Al-Hazard has been lost for a millenia, why come out of the shadows now? "

"I have lived for a very long time, and put my trust in many people. I have been betrayed by quite a few. Others have lost their lives for my cause. My own great, great granddaughter, Olivie was sent to her death in an attempt to end the war, and take back Al-Hazard from the realm of the dead."

"You're the beginning of the Saint Kaiser's bloodline!?" I shouted before another thought struck my mind. "You have a daughter!?"

"Had." Kiseki corrected calmly. "She died centuries ago. I am in no way royalty, but the Saint Kaiser's bloodline does start with my daughter. I know that she was not originally considered to be the Saint Kaiser, but how else do you think Olivie could pilot the Saint's Cradle if she did not have the bloodline required for it. Anyway, that is a tale for another time. The point is "After a thousand long years of searching I have finally found my answer. And it rests with all of you. Section Six was reformed for the sole reason of reviving the lost civilization and returning the natural order of life to normal. I know it sounds like a lot to ask, but I will need each and everyone of you to make this possible. My power alone is nowhere near enough, so I must ask; will you all help me."

Everyone except for Nanoha and I gave an immediate 'yes.' Nanoha seemed to be waiting to see what I decided. I was just trying to pinpoint that nagging feeling that was bothering me...

Hang on... If my Mother had 'made it to Al-Hazard'...

"So when you said that Precia had made it to Al-Hazard," Nanoha asked, taking the words right out of my mouth. "Does that mean?"

"Yes." Kiseki confirmed. "The realm of the dead and Al-Hazard are one and the same. Al-Hazard can detect a person appearing in a dimension that they shouldn't be in. Fifteen years ago he alerted me to the presence of someone falling into imaginary space. When I went to investigate, I found Precia floating on the edge of oblivion, with the preserved body of her dead daughter. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was after.

I told her that if she was trying to get to Al-Hazard, I could send her there, at the cost of her own life for her daughter's. I also warned her about the place that Al-Hazard had become; a living hell. She just laughed and said that it would be a fitting punishment for one such as her, and pleaded with me to allow her to go. She told me that she wanted her daughter to know that she had fulfilled her promise to give her a wonderful little sister. I sent her to Al-Hazard in the hopes that she would have the strength enough to return with her daughter."

I stopped breathing, this was what I had been wanting to hear.

"Alicia made it back, Precia did not."

My heart sank, but at the same time I couldn't believe it.

"A-Alicia... is alive?" I stammered dumbly. Kiseki pulled up a video monitor.

"You can come out now." was all she said before shutting the monitor off.

There was a soft hissing noise as the door closest to us opened, I got out of Nanoha's lap and turned around, feeling rather week in the knees.

There, walking cautiously out of the base, was... me... only fifteen years younger.

"Oh my god." Nanoha gasped in shock. "It really is her! It really is-"

"Alicia!" I shouted, as I took off at a run, catching my older sister in a hug halfway.

"Onee-Chan!" Alicia cried, burying her face in my shoulder. "Please help Mother! She is in such a horrible place!"

"It's alright Alicia." I comforted, this was reminding me of the dream world I had been trapped in during the Book of Darkness incident, except this time I knew; this was no dream. "It's alright."

The door hissed open again, Subaru, Teana, Aoi, Vita, Chie, Signum, Haruka, Hayate, Erio, Caro and an older woman that I had never met before stepped outside, waiting patiently of to the side as Kiseki and the rest of the group walked up to meet us.

"I must ask of you again Fate Tesstarossa Harlaown." Kiseki began. "Will you help me?"

"If I help you, can you guarantee my Mother's safety?"

"I swear on Chiyo's name." Kiseki vowed. I turned to Nanoha who gave a determined nod, I lowered my gaze to Alicia, the frightened look on her face was all the encouragement I needed. I turned back to Kiseki.

"I'll do anything."

...

*Stares at the shattered remains of the fourth wall after Kiseki shamelessly blasted through it*

AN: That's the third fourth wall I've had to repair so far! Why can't the characters just stay in the story where they belong?

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This story is turning out to be more than the funny fluffy fest that I had originally planned it to be. There will be plenty more funny fluff to come, but now there is a point to it!

As for the poll, I might have to keep that up a little longer, since I've only had two people vote on it. Please vote! I look forward to your votes just as much as I do your reviews!

Please keep both coming, and I'll see you in Chapter 7!


	7. Chapter 7, Reunions

AN: Well here we are, finally! I apologize for taking so long.

I am back in school, and as such further updating will likely take a fair bit longer. I will still update as often as I can, but it might be reduced to once a month.

Stupid education...

I also blame Touhou, and the Touhou M1 Grand Prix for being so goddamned hilarious and distracting.

Yes I am also a fan of Touhou,

I mean a video game where ninety percent of the characters are female is just a breeding ground for Yuri ships! I have about twenty ships just from that series alone!

I know what you're shouting at me: **Why is any of this relevant!?**

Good Question!

It means that in order to satisfy my Touhou crazed half, that has been keeping me from writing as much, I will be inserting references to the lovely, bad ass ladies of Gensokyou here and there. The odd character might make an appearance, but I have waaaaay to many characters to deal with as it is, so it'll likely just be in passing.

For those of who haven't a clue as to who the characters from Touhou are; you could always check the Touhou Wiki for a character description.

In addition I forgot to add in another ship that will be making an appearance from the Strike Witch Universe, and that would be Lucchini and the Duchesses Maria... I tried running Lucchini and Shirley through my head a few times, but Lucchini's childish personality, coupled with the four year age gap, (thirteen and seventeen) and Shirley's position as more of a mother figure, just brought any attempts to picture them together to a screeching halt. I might consider it if I ever see Lucchini at age eighteen and up with an age twenty two and up Shirley. But at thirteen? DOES NOT COMPUTE!

*Ahem*

That brief look into my shipper's mind will probably never make sense to anyone, unless they are just as manic about shipping as I am.

Alright! Enough rambling, Chapter 7 awaits!

As always: read, enjoy, and review!

Chapter 7,

Reunions

As our two groups merged, Haruka and Yukino instantly made a beeline for each other. Haruka caught Yukino in a hug, lifting the small brunette off the ground before lowering her so she could support her by her waist. Yukino, caught up in her happiness, seemed unaware of what she was doing, as she started to lean in towards Haruka.

The blond, much to the HiME's apparent surprise, began to lean in as well, that is before she froze solid, blushing beet red as realization dawned on her. It took Yukino a little longer to realize what she was doing. She figured it out just in time to redirect her lips to Haruka's cheek at the last second. None the less, Haruka's legs gave out the very second Yukino's lips touched her skin.

The two collapsed on top of each other in a tangled heap. All eyes fell on them as a very awkward silence reigned over them. Yukino lifted her head out of Haruka's…ample chest, her glasses askew. The two just stared stupidly at each other for a moment or two, before they both descended into a fit of tearful laughter.

"What on earth just… almost happened?" Kyouko demanded as the two girls wrapped each other in another hug.

"Suzushiro-san just stuck her toe out of her very, very deep closet for a second there." Shizuru replied, her voice a mix of amusement and pride. "That closet of hers is so deep, that she can probably find all her baby clothing."

Now that was a deep closet! Back before I admitted to myself that I was… less than straight, (back in high school.) all I could find in my closet was 'last season's' Barrier Jacket. (AN: sorry for the bad pun.) I was about to comment on this, but Midori's shocked voice cut me off.

"Youko!" She exclaimed in surprise and horror. "What the hell are you doing here!?"

The girl in question seemed to be doing her best to hide behind Signum. When Midori shouted at her, she gave up all pretenses of stealth… Not that she was doing a very good job to begin with.

"Midori!" She replied, the fake surprise so evident in her voice as to be almost painful to listen to. "What a surprise to see you here!"

Midori's face was the very definition of a deadpan.

"You know it's the funniest thing!" The woman named Youko continued in an attempt to alleviate the awkward atmosphere. "I could swear the train I boarded was bound for Tokyo! I…" One more look at the death glare Midori was giving her was all took for the brunette to fall silent. The rest of the HiME's merely watched this exchange with varying levels of interest. Even Haruka and Yukino stopped what could only be called sub-textual flirting to watch.

Midori took a deep calming breath.

"Alright Youko," she practically growled. For a woman who looked to be very easygoing and carefree… Midori looked rather pissed to say the least. "Let's try that again: What are you doing here? And can we go easy on the bull crap this time?"

"We found her in the medical wing." Caro piped up. "She was working away on something with Shamal-sensei." Midori narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"How on earth did you know how to get there?" she questioned

Youko opened her mouth to explain, however Hayate raised her hand to cut her off.

"Sagisawa-Sensei has been working on something that TSAB has become interested in." Hayate explained, saving Youko from any further embarrassment. "Her progress has been hampered financially, since you can't fund a project of this caliber on a school nurse's salary. As well as technologically. So TSAB sent for her, so that she could work closely with _**Shamal**_, and hopefully come up with some results sooner."

I noticed the not so subtle emphasis that Hayate added to Shamal's name.

I also noticed Signum's eyes narrow dangerously at the woman that she had been protecting a few moments before.

Something about the way Hayate said Shamal's name also seemed to rub Midori the wrong way, although she seemed to be trying hard to hide it.

Youko giggled nervously.

Finally, I noticed the evil little twinkle in Hayate's eye as she noticed the change in her knight's behaviour.

"Suzushiro-san and Harada-san are also involved in the project." Hayate went on smoothly, as if she hadn't just thrown Youko to the human equivalent of a rampaging fire breathing dragon. "TSAB has been preparing to take on this mission ever since Kiseki came out of the shadows several months ago."

I blinked stupidly for a moment or two… This was news to me. And judging from the expressions of everyone else in our large group, (Save for Kiseki) this was news to everyone… Especially Yukino.

"Haruka-chan?" she asked, sounding a little worried.

"Sagisawa-sensei has been here before to work with Shamal. Once the prototype was ready, Sagisawa-sensei administered it to Suzushiro-san and Harada-san on earth. Then I had Admiral Lindy go to pick them up. Senou-san, it seems; managed to convince the Admiral to allow her to come along as well."

If I knew my mother like I thought I did, I was pretty sure I knew what the reason was.

There was an abnormally large amount of matchmakers on this base, and they were all troublemakers…

"So why didn't Lindy-san just bring them straight to you?" Nanoha asked curiously. "It certainly would have been more productive than letting them run amok through an interstellar military headquarters."

Hayate sighed in amusement and annoyance.

"You know how Admiral-Lindy has liked to… complicate simple things lately."

… every single last one of them: **Troublemakers.**

"If you ask me," Vita snorted, a clear indication that this did not amuse her at all. "I think Admiral-Lindy is getting tired of her desk job."

Funny, that's just what I had thought earlier.

"So why did you start this project anyway?" I asked.

Youko stepped up to field the question, as well as to get away from Signum… Who still seemed to be trying to cause the poor woman to spontaneously combust with her mind alone.

"After the HiME festival," She explained. "I became interested in artificially replicating the Materialization ability. I was seeking a better way to help protect the school, the ease that the Sears foundation took Fuuka over disturbed me a little bit."

"They had their own private **ARMY**!" Midori exploded, waving her arms around with all the grace of a chicken with its head cut off.

"Technically, so did Fuuka." Youko pointed out smartly.

Midori could not come up with any suitable retort, so instead she merely resorted to glaring angrily at Youko.

Between Signum and Midori, I was surprised that the brunette _**hadn't**_ randomly burst into flames by now.

"Anyway, Fumi-san agreed that the school needed more protection. " She went on, ignoring the two as best she could. "Suzushiro-san and Harada-san, and myself were the three most directly involved with the HiME festival… without being directly involved. All three of us felt rather useless during the festival, and we wanted to do something to help protect Fuuka High. But as it seems Fuuka wasn't the only thing that needs protecting, either way; I'm sure you will find the project to be a boon in this endeavor."

"...To protect Fuuka?" Yukino asked, sounding a little hurt.

I guess finding out that Haruka hadn't traveled halfway across the universe just to see her, took some of the wind out of her sails.

"What? It was just a regular after school activist." Haruka chuckled nervously, the look Yukino was giving her also seemed to take her usual enthusiasm and bravado down by a peg or two.

"Activity Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected softly, lowering her head so the blond couldn't see her face. Haruka's cocky, proud expression contorted into one of sheer panic.

"Yukino." Haruka's voice was soft and gentle (A tone of voice that I wasn't even sure she was capable of, until now.) as she carefully lifted Yukino's face with her knuckle. Bright olive eyes, marred by unshed tears emerged from under messy brown hair. "Why do you think I want to protect Fukka High?"

A soft sniff served as her answer.

"Because it's where _you_ go to school." Haruka explained. "That's where _you_ go to learn. I was helping Youko-sensei with this project before I knew that you would be coming here. Once I found out; protecting Fuuka wasn't my main concern anymore. I was just lucky that Sensei finished work on the prototype when she did. Even if she hadn't I would have made it to you somehow. I will always be there to protect you Yukino. No matter where you are."

"Haruka-chan." Yukino sighed gratefully, enveloping her friend in another hug. "Thank you so much..." Haruka's whole demeanor softened, as she soothingly ran her fingers through Yukino's hair. The bright happy aura that was coming off them in waves was practically blinding.

"What kind of project have you been working on?" Mai asked as Haruka and Yukino (reluctantly) parted.

Youko turned to Hayate, who merely shrugged, then she rested her gaze on Haruka.

"Shamal and I finished work on our first prototype." She repeated, ignoring the increase in the intensity of the death glare that Signum was giving her at the words: _**Shamal and**__**I **_as well as _**our**__. "_So,Suzushiro-san, why don't you give us a quick demonstration, and give the system a test run while you're at it?"

That confident grin immediately reappeared on Haruka's face.

"With pleasure!" she acquiesced proudly. "MATERIALIZE!" (AN: I did say that I might be putting Mai-Otome into this story, I just never said how I was going to do it.) A jeweled topaz earring that I hadn't noticed before, began to glow brightly on Haruka's left ear.

(AN: For a description of Haruka's Otome transformation that doesn't suck, watch Mai-Otome, Episode Ten at the seventeen minute mark.)

As we all watched, a fuzzy looking shadow of Haruka appeared, mirroring her stance exactly. A strange outfit appeared on the shadow (AN: Please look up Haruka Armitage's ROBE to see what it looks like, as I can't even begin to describe it.) and slowly the shadow and it's master began to merge into one another. The very second they fused entirely, the strange green outfit materialized on Haruka, like some kind of weird armour.

Or a very ugly Barrier Jacket.

"Initial materialization of the ROBE seems to be stable." Youko commented, watching Haruka with a keen interest. "Now Suzushiro-san, try calling upon your weapon."

Haruka looking proud as punch, extended her left arm. A large, very heavy looking mace attached to a long chain, with an axe on the other end appeared out of thin air. I don't think that I could have lifted that thing if I tried. Haruka, however lifted it as if it were no heavier than a soccer ball.

"The increase in physical strength is working perfectly." the school nurse noted, nodding in satisfaction. She glanced briefly at Chie, then at Haruka.

Chie; taking her cue, bent over and grabbed a baseball sized rock, before throwing it as hard as she could at Haruka's head with no word of warning. The blond barely twitched, until...

In a blur of green, Haruka reacted with inhuman speed to catch the rock, before triumphantly crushing it to dust with her bare hands.

"Reflexes have also improved significantly." Youko observed. "Next shall we try flight?"

"Flight?" Haruka inquired curiously. "This ROBE thing can fly?"

"If the system is working properly, it should." Youko confirmed. "That metal ribbon on the back of the ROBE can be used as both a grappling device, and a stabilizing fin for aerial maneuvers. Just focus on flight, you'll see."

"Constipate on flight." Haruka repeated, causing most of us to snort in laughter. The blond squeezed her eyes shut, and what I had originally thought was a metal collar with tubes running through it began to light up like one of those neon glow sticks. "Got it!"

"It's concentrate, Haruka-chan." Yukino giggled happily. One violet eye peeked open, as a mechanical humming began to come from the ROBE.

"That's what I SAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIID!"

"HARUKA-CHAN!" Yukino shouted in horror as Haruka took off as if someone had strapped a live rocket to her butt.

"Looks like there are still a few bugs to work out." Hayate observed. as Haruka went up... and up, and up.

One minute the blond was on the ground, the next she was a hundred feet feet straight up in the air, and still climbing at remarkable speed.

"Well at least the flight system works." Chie commented dryly.

Youko's face met her palm with a rather audible smack.

"That girl never does anything halfway does she?" Nanoha remarked sarcastically. Everyone from the HiME group, except Yukino shook their heads as we all watched Haruka become a small dot in the sky.

"So." Vita piped up in a nonchalant manner. "How are we gonna get her down? She clearly doesn't know how to steer that thing ...Does anyone have any suggestions?" Silence pervaded the question.

I noticed that Kiseki seemed to be eyeing one of the larger boulders that Kiyohime's appearance had left behind.

"I have an idea." she offered, turning to the last group, or more specifically to the woman named Trude. "Barkhorn-san, may I borrow you for moment?"

"Certainly." Trude replied, she seemed eager to help out. "What do you need?"

"I need you to grab that boulder over there." Kiseki answered, pointing at the boulder she had been eyeing earlier.

The boulder easily weighed at least a ton, I was at a loss as to how Kiseki expected Trude to lift the thing.

Giving nothing but a curt nod of consent, Trude immediately marched over to the large boulder. Her stride was that of a pure soldier, through and through. With a loud crack of her knuckles, a thin light blue aura surrounded her. As we all watched, the ears and tail of what looked like some kind of dog, just sort of... grew out of her head and butt respectively.

My eyes went wide at the sight.

The last group: The Strike Witches; mages who fuse with their animal familiars in order to use magic.

I will admit that I was a little curious to see what the word 'fuse' had meant. Now that I had seen it, I was surprised to see that the term was quite literal in its implications.

I felt a tug at my shirt sleeve. I looked down to see Alicia, who was regarding me with a confused look on her face.

"Onee-chan!" she whispered urgently, I knelt down to her level to see what the problem was. Alicia shifted so that she could whisper right in my ear.

"Why isn't that woman wearing any pants?" she whispered innocently. I looked up in alarm to see that Trude was in the process of bending over to grab the boulder, giving my older sister an excellent view of... something she really shouldn't be seeing at this age... Or at least, not under these circumstances... Then again, no one should be seeing them under these circumstances... or under _any_ circumstances for that matter.

"Nice ass." Hayate commented sarcastically under her breath.

The rest of the Strike Witches just watched as if this was perfectly normal. Which; considering their own lack of lower dress, probably was.

Acting quickly, (But still far too late,) I covered Alicia's eyes, before her innocence was tarnished further. She may be my 'older' sister, but I was still fifteen years her senior.

... There really was nothing normal about my life at all, was there?

"Onee-chan..." Alicia sighed in amusement. "What's the point in covering my eyes now that I've already seen them? I just wanted to know why she wasn't wearing any, That's all."

That was a very good question... with no answer as of yet.

"OUCH!" Erio shouted suddenly, his nose bleeding slightly. "Caro! What the heck was that for!?"

"For getting a nosebleed!" Caro retorted stiffly, withdrawing the fist that she had used to punch Erio, and crossing her arms in anger. "Pervert!"

At first glance I had thought Erio had gotten that nosebleed from Caro socking him one, but on closer inspection he was cradling his arm, not his nose... which was now bleeding profusely. Most likely due to the peep show that Trude was giving everyone. Clearly Caro had expected Erio to keep his hormones under control.

Oh well, boys will be boys.

Grunting with the effort, Trude slowly lifted the large boulder. Needless to say, I was very impressed. But now the question remained:

How the heck was this supposed to help?

"Where do you want it?" Trude asked as casually as if she was asking where to put some new furniture.

"Approximately where Suzushiro-san took off, if you don't mind." Kiseki instructed pointing at Yukino, who was still trying to spot some trace of her best friend.

It took some doing, but eventually Trude managed to lug the boulder to roughly where Haruka took off.

"Thank you Barkhorn-san." She said with a grin. "If you could just hold that there, that would be great."

"Great." Vita commented. "Now what?" Kiseki's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Sensei?" she asked, turning to Youko. "If I recall properly; Suzushiro-san's natural healing abilities have been improved as well, correct?"

"Yes," Youko confirmed, seemingly catching on to what Kiseki was planning. "that's right, Suzushiro-san's skull has also become far more resistant to heavy impact."

These words seemed to catch Yukino's attention, and she turned her gaze on Kiseki, her face clouded with worry.

"Excellent." Kiseki grinned, looking very, very evil... that is until she noticed Yukino's face. "Don't worry Kikukawa-san, all this should do is give her a bump on the head and maybe knock her out for a few minutes." Yukino still didn't look very convinced, but she hesitantly nodded her consent.

"That's all fine and good." I pointed out, "But how are you planning to get that boulder up there? poor Haruka-san must be on one of the moons by now!"

"All I have to do is call in a favour." Kiseki explained. "I can send myself and others to different dimensions. Portals however, fall under Yukari-san's domain."

"Who?" Nanoha asked curiously. The golden eyed brunette smiled.

"An old friend of mine." she continued. "You make lots of friends when you wander aimlessly through countless dimensions for a thousand years. I met her about three hundred years ago, when she thought it might be funny to try and trap me in Gensokyo."

I frowned, this friend hardly seemed very reliable to me.

"How is this Yukari still alive then?" Mikoto asked.

"Yukari Yakumo has lived ten times longer than I have." Kiseki replied. "She's a youkai, and youkai naturally live far longer than humans do. But even by youkai standards, Yukari-san is a special case. At ten thousand years of age; she is known as the most powerful youkai in Gensokyo."

"Not that I'm complaining or anything." Trude injected, her voice sounding rather strained. "But this boulder is rather heavy, so if you don't mind, could you just get on with it?"

"Sorry, Barkhorn-san." Kiseki apologized sheepishly, before getting right back down to business. "Al-Hazard. Could you please send a message to Yukari-san to send a gap to Suzushiro-san's coordinates, she should be the only living thing that's up there, so she shouldn't be hard to find."

'_Where should I request that Lady Yukari let Lady Suzushiro out?_' The device asked.

"The coordinates directly under the boulder if you please." Kiseki specified. "Barkhorn-san, keep a good grip on that rock, Suzushiro-san is likely to be going pretty fast when she comes out." Trude nodded and braced herself.

"_It shall be done My Lady._" With that the device fell silent, pulsing with a golden glow every second. Kind of like how Bardiche always did whenever I sent a long distance message. (Usually to Nanoha and Vivio.)

We waited...

Nothing happened. Not that any of us knew what was supposed to happen. Although I'm sure nothing wasn't what Kiseki was expecting.

A few moments later, golden eyes rolled in annoyance.

"That lazy Sukima (AN: Gap) is probably sleeping as usual." She muttered rather loudly to herself. "She could barely be counted on to make it to her own bloody wedding...Useless drunkard almost slept through it. Poor Reimu almost called the whole thing o-"

Quite suddenly, a large gap opened up in the ground. Haruka just sort of flew out of the deep purple opening-

CRUNCH!

Where she came to a dead stop as she became intimately acquainted with the boulder. Which promptly split in two from the impact. Haruka was immediately knocked out cold. Her ROBE dematerialized, allowing gravity to reclaim it's hold on her, sending her back down into the gap again.

"Haruka-chan!" Yukino shouted, as her blond friend disappeared into the deep purple sea of eyes that floated throughout the portal.

Seconds later, the gap sealed back up again.

Before any of us had a chance to start worrying where Haruka had gone, another gap opened up about three feet above Kiseki's head, unceremoniously dumping the unconscious blond on top of her. The golden eyed brunette was on the ground before she could process what was happening.

"Okay, first of all: Ow." Kiseki commented with a groan as she wormed her way out from under the comatose Haruka. "Second: I'm pretty sure I deserved that one, although I wish she had been a little easier on Suzushiro-san... Third: Does anyone want to help get Suzushiro-san off me? She's kinda crushing my spine." Yukino, Youko and I stepped forward. Working together we hauled Haruka (who was just starting to come around) to her feet.

"I'll look after her." Youko volunteered, as we carefully lowered Haruka to the ground. "I am a school nurse after all."

"Did anyone get the incense plate of the ass that bit me?" Haruka seemed understandably disoriented.

I turned to look at Yukino.

"I can only assume that she means 'the license plate of the bus that hit her'." The brunette replied, sounding a little unsure and uneasy. "She's a little bit less coherent than usual."

Gee, I wonder why?

Once the blond was no longer pinning her to the ground, Kiseki gingerly picked herself up, and casually dusted herself off. "Thanks Yukari-san!" she called up at the still open portal.

A elegant looking hand poked out of the gap... however there was absolutely nothing elegant about the gesture it was making.

I quickly covered Alicia's eyes again.

"Oi!" Kiseki shouted defensively. "I'm sorry if I was harsh, but you know that if I used flattery to get your attention again, Reimu would literally riddle me with denmaku, and that's **after** blasting me with just about every spell card in her possession first! Therefore I had to use the only other thing that you'll listen to!"

Without another word, the hand (which I assumed belonged to Yukari) withdrew, the gap sealing up seconds later.

"What the hell was that all about?" Natsuki asked, as Kiseki sighed heavily.

"Yukari and her selective hearing." she replied, turning to Youko, who was in the process of looking Haruka over. "Anyway, how is our ex-rocket doing?"

"She's got a nasty bump on her head," The school nurse replied. "but the nanomachines will take care of that in no time."

"Nanomachines?" I asked.

"The thousands of microscopic machines that Shamal and I developed to enhance someone's natural capabilities." Youko explained. "Once injected into the subject, they form something like an artificial Linker Core that can recreate the HiME materialization ability. You could say that the ROBE is kind of similar to a HiME's CHILD, except it is not bound by the life of another. It seems as though everything is functioning as it should, which is certainly good news for the project."

"How does nearly sending Suzushiro-san into orbit mean that things are functioning properly?" Midori demanded sounding rather irritated.

"The nanomachines take some getting used to." Youko answered calmly. "Suzushiro-san has only had them in her system for only a few hours, it will take months for her to learn how to properly control the Continental Orb Topaz, and years more to perfect it. However I am quite surprised at how well Suzushiro-san was able to control the ROBE during her first test run."

Haruka groaned loudly. I wasn't sure if that groan was in agreement, argument... or just because she had just flown head first into a boulder, at a rather high velocity. Most normal people would be dead after an impact like that.

"We're definitely going to have to work on steering though." Youko added as an afterthought.

"She's certainly handling the nanomachines better than I am." Chie piped up; and for the first time, I noticed that Chie's left ear was pierced by a deep sea blue gemstone. (AN: Does anyone have a clue as to what Meister GEM Chie Hallard inherited in Mai-Otome Zwei?) "I still have a little bit of a fever." Her cheeks were a little redder than usual, but I had figured that was because Aoi had been constantly fussing over her, as if she had been mortally wounded.

"That's why I keep telling you to take it easy!" Aoi scolded, sticking her finger accusingly in Chie's face. "Isn't that what Youko-sensei suggested?"

Chie's eyes crossed behind her glasses, as she focused on Aoi's finger. A wicked grin spread on her face as she opened her mouth and gently nipped Aoi's finger in retaliation. Aoi jumped in surprise, turning several shades of red as she retracted her finger.

Chie was a flirt; that much became immediately obvious.

"Oh, get a broom!" Haruka shouted suddenly as she unsteadily got to her feet. Yukino surged forward to help as the blond nearly fell over.

"Room, Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected gently. Haruka's only response was another loud groan.

"You didn't seriously think I'd miss out on meeting everyone did you?" Chie teased, sticking her own finger in Aoi's beet red face. Aoi seemed to be considering whether or not to return the favour. Ever so slowly she opened her mouth and inched towards her dark haired friend's awaiting digit... "So many beautiful new girls to seduce."

Aoi's face clouded with fury.

CHOMP!

"OUCH! Aoi, what the heck did you do that for?" Looks like Chie's statement had helped Aoi make up her mind.

"Jerk!"

I watched as Chie nursed her mangled finger, while attempting to make it up to Aoi at the same time. This of course was quite futile, since Chie seemed unaware as to what she had done wrong in the first place.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Nanoha muttered sarcastically.

Truer words have never been spoken.

On the other hand, Chie did remind me that the Strike Witches had yet to be introduced.

I caught Nanoha's eye before glancing at the final group. Nanoha nodded before speaking up.

"Who is the commander of your unit?" She asked turning to the Strike Witches. Her authoritative tone immediately silenced all other conversation, and brought all eyes on her.

"That would be me." Replied the red haired officer clad in yet another World War II era German uniform. "Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke; Commander of the 501rst Joint Fighter Wing, at your service." A quick military salute completed the greeting, and the rest of her unit stood to attention. However the formal atmosphere was completely shattered with every slight breeze.

"At ease." I commanded, trying to ignore the panty flashes I was getting every few seconds. (WHY WAS IT SO GOD DAMNED WINDY TODAY!?) "Commander Wilcke, would you care to introduce yourself and the rest of your squad? I would also like to know where you are from, as well as to get to know your familiars if you don't mind."

"Certainly." Minna agreed with a nod. "and Minna is fine, I will be under your command after all."

"Very well then Minna-san, please continue."

"I am native to Karlsland, and my familiar is a grey wolf." Minna went on. "I named her Krawatte when we met on my seventh birthday... Anyway she grants me enhanced spacial perception; which allows me to instantly determine the location, number and strength of all targets from any direction. It is a very useful skill when it comes to recon, and has served me very well over the years. I hope that it will be of use to you as well. Mi- I mean Major Sakamoto, I'll let you continue from here."

The witch with long black hair, tied up in a pony tail stepped up. Her uniform (or at least the top half of it) was reminiscent of the Japanese Imperial Navy back in World War II.

"I am Squadron Leader; Major Mio Sakamoto." She greeted, her voice was loud, and authoritative, and... sounded remarkably familiar. (AN: Natsuki and Mio, Strike Witches season 1, are voice by the same person.) "I lead the girls in battle, and I am also in charge of training. I am a witch native to the land of Fuso, and my familiar is a Doberman Pinscher. He grants me the ability to discern things in a far off distant place, I can also see through certain domains that human eyesight normally cannot perceive. I often use it to locate an enemy's weak point, I keep it covered when it's not in use since it is constantly active. Regardless of my decline in ability, I will work hard to prove myself useful."

Trude took her cue and gave her introduction.

"I am Flight Lieutenant Gertrud Barkhorn." she said formally. "Like Commander Minna, I am also from Karlsland. As I'm sure you've already guessed, my German Pointer grants me superhuman strength that surpasses the Body Strengthening that is typical of all witches. I hope my skills will be of service to this mission."

Hartmann rolled her eyes as Trude finished her intro.

"Short, simple, and to the point as always, aren't you Trude?" She asked with a fond sigh. "Honestly, the world will not explode if you lighten up a little bit." Trude shot Hartmann a dirty look, which the short blond merely ignored. "Anyway, I'm Erica Hartmann, a Flying Officer. Nice to meetcha!"

Erica, was pretty much Trude's polar opposite, in every way possible.

"Don't mind Trude." she went on. "She's always had an abnormally long stick up her butt, but she means well."

"HARTMANN!"

"Alright, alright, fine!" Erica gave an exaggerated sigh before continuing, meanwhile Trude seemed to be trying to keep herself from throttling her comrade. "I am also from Karlsland, and my familiar is a Dachshund. She allows me to manipulate gusts of air to form an offensive barrel roll called Sturm. Let me tell you, it was a hard technique to master. I remember this one time when I was still in training with Trude..."

"Hartmann..." Trude warned, her cheeks suddenly turning red.

"Our training instructor had asked me to try practicing the move on Trude." Erica recalled, ignoring Trude completely. "She had me do it several times in quick succession."

I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Hartmann..." Trude warned again, and met with the same amount of success.

"By the fifth time around I was already feeling pretty woozy." Erica was talking as if she couldn't feel the impending doom in Trude form, closing in on her. "So when Trude flew up to me to see what was wrong, I ending up barfing aaaallll over her!"

"**HARTMANN!**"

Seconds later, Erica was the proud owner of the third or fourth (I had lost count) lump of the day. Apparently it was the perfect day for multiple head injuries.

"Eila;" Trude growled out through clenched teeth. "would you mind taking over for Frau? Preferably before I am forced to harm her further." The sandy blond laughed nervously, watching as Trude took Erica by the collar and dragged her off to the side. Presumably to give the younger girl a stern talking to.

"I'm Flight Lieutenant Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen." Eila greeted her voice was casual, and slightly boastful. "I come from Suomus, and my familiar is a black fox named Clair." (AN: Short for Clairvoyant) "Clair gives me the gift of Foresight. I can see into the near future, and sense enemy attacks before they make them. I'm first rate at dodging and out-maneuvering foes, meaning that I'm one of the few people out there who can literally dodge a bullet!"

Eila's half uniform was one I wasn't familiar with. She was one of the three who were at least wearing pantyhose, which was a relief, but no matter how hard I tried I could not place where her uniform hailed from. She had said she was from a country called Suomus, and as far as I knew there was no such country on earth.

Origins aside, Eila has a bit of an ego, it would seem.

"You won't have to worry about me." She went on, her tone shifting from boasting, to a few notches below threatening. "But I will not forgive you if you push Sanya too hard. She usually sleeps during the day, and she's our best night witch, so be sure to treat her as such."

"Eila!" The soft voice of the small witch beside her scolded. "There's no need to say that. They will use my skills as they see fit, you don't need to be so over protective, I'll be fine."

Her words were barely above a whisper, but Sanya may has well have yelled at her. All the bravado seemed to immediately drain out of the sandy haired girl, as she began to look rather ashamed of herself.

Noticing that she had perhaps gone too far (Despite the fact that she had done nothing of the sort) Sanya stood on her tiptoes to give Eila a small peck on the cheek.

Eila's entire demeanor went from soul-crushingly depressed, to floating on seventh heaven, sipping tea with Buddha... all within the span of a few seconds.

To say that Sanya's smallest gestures had significant influence over Eila's emotions would be an understatement, it was quite cute really. It also felt very familiar to me, but yet again I could not pinpoint exactly why.

The small silver haired witch stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"My name is Sanya V. Litvyak; a Flight Officer." her voice was so soft that I had to struggle to hear it. "I am native to Orussia. My familiar is a black cat. She grants me an ability that we call Magic Antenna, or Magic Needles. Using this, I am able to interact with radio waves. It is a type of non-visual perception that can detect objects at extreme ranges. I can also tune in and rebroadcast radio transmissions. Please don't worry about what Eila said, and use my abilities as you see fit."

A large yawn followed her explanation, without another word, Sanya walked back to Eila's side and rested her head against her friend's shoulder. Seconds later, she was sound asleep. The sandy haired girl's face melted into another affectionate grin, as she diligently remained still while her small silver haired companion slept on.

I had about a half a second to notice that the young girl named Lucchini was once again missing from the rest of the Strike Witches, when...

"ACK!" Haruka yelped, as Lucchini copped a feel. "WHAT THE DUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU LITTLE MONSTER!?" All eyes turned to the source of the earsplitting racket. Haruka seemed to be fully recovered, and at the moment she was trying to break the death grip that Lucchini had on her...upper torso. In a way, I was glad that Haruka had mispronounced that particular word, as it saved me the trouble of covering Alicia's ears.

"It's Ffff-" Yukino began her usual correction, but seemed to be unable to make herself continue. "Ffffff-" as she tried again, we all watched her expectantly. Haruka even stopped wrestling with Lucchini to see if Yukino could finish.

"..." A sigh of defeat. "Never mind Haruka-chan."

"Right, now would someone care to get this little runt off me?" Haruka shouted as Lucchini went back to her... massaging.

Shirley marched up to her young charge, and with some effort she managed to extract Lucchini from Haruka.

"Don't you **ever** learn?" She demanded as she grabbed Lucchini around her middle, before depositing the young girl in front of Nanoha and I. "Now behave yourself, and introduce yourself properly." Lucchini pouted grumpily for a few moments, until Shirley cleared her throat loudly and made an offhanded threat about banning chest snuggling for a month.

Only then did the smallest recruit decide to stop fooling around.

"I'm Flying Officer Francesca Lucchini." She greeted cheerfully as if she had never been scolded at all. "I'm from Romagna. My familiar is a black panther who grants me the power to play with magic energy, and make it do aaaanything I want!" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Lucchini don't exaggerate too much." Shirley tutted, ruffling the girl's dark hair. "What she means is that she has the ability to concentrate, discharge and manipulate most kinds of magical energy. It's kind of similar to Kiseki's ability, except that Lucchini can generate her own magical energy, so she doesn't have to depend on an outside source. She may not act like it, but she's our little prodigy who has a true passion for defending those in need... she's especially protective of her girlfriend;Maria."

Lucchini's tanned cheeks took on a sudden reddish hue.

"She's not my girlfriend!" She shouted defensively. The growth of her state of panic was directly proportionate to the growth of the evil grin on Shirley's face. "She's my friend and the duchess of my country, nothing more!"

"Riiiight." Shirley teased. "So then what was with that giant sculpture of you, carved in imported dutch chocolate that she sent you for Valentines' Day?"

Rather than come up with any suitable answer, Lucchini instead looked about ready to burst into tears.

"Oops. I guess I went a little to far there." Quick as a flash, Shirley went from a teasing older sister to a nurturing mother; who quickly had Lucchini back to her old self in no time.

I may be giving her too much credit, since it seems that all it takes to cheer Lucchini up is a nice big hug between a nice big pair of...melons.

"Sorry about Lucchini." Shirley apologized as we watched Lucchini made a beeline for Kiseki, only to offer the golden eyed girl a 'consolation prize' for her trouble. "She means well..." A high pitched yelp from Mami told us that the Black Panther had already claimed her next victim. "...most of the time. Anyway, my name is Charlotte E. Yeager; a Flight Lieutenant from the United States of Liberon. Everyone calls me Shirley, my familiar is a white rabbit.

Now, I have two main strengths: Speed and Mechanics. My familiar makes it possible for me to fly faster than most other witches, as well as perform a task at a higher rate of speed. So long as I'm concentrating, I can knock out multiple gadgets in no time at all! I just love tinkering with anything that drives, or flies. They're my specialty."

"Which is ironic, considering you drive like a lunatic." a refined looking bespectacled blond commented sarcastically. "The last time I took a ride with you, you nearly put my head through the windshield! Who was the incompetent moron who gave _you_ a driver's license anyway?"

"I can drive just as well as the next person!"

"As long as there's no one looking." The girl countered, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "I've always said that you're too laid back, especially if you can casually drive a military vehicle off a cliff with yourself and the passengers still inside!"

Note To Self: Never **ever **let Shirley drive my car.

"Hey! I stuck that landing!" Shirley huffed, not helping herself at all.

Note To Self Revised: Never let her **anywhere** near my car for that matter.

The bespectacled blond rolled her eyes, and turned to face Nanoha and I.

"Flying Officer Pierrette-Henriette Clostermann." She greeted suddenly, as if her conversation with Shirley had never even happened. Which I guess was a good thing, seeing as it meant that she didn't take notice of the tongue Shirley was sticking out at her. "If that name is too much of a mouthful, then you may call me Perinne. I am a proud soldier of Gallia, who flies by the power of a domestic Gallian cat called a Chartreux. I call her Eclair (AN: For all those French readers out there, let's just pretend for the moment that the 'E' has the correct accent on it.) She grants me a powerful lightning attack called Tonnerre. I don't much like using it though, all that static electricity is murder on my hair."

"Yes, but just think of how many times Tonnerre has saved our lives." the girl with long dirty blond hair tied back in a braid pointed out timidly. "My own included, multiple times."

"There's no need to remind me!" Perrine snapped. "I am not so self absorbed that I would refrain from using it to protect my friends, now would I?" Perrine's voice went from arrogant and harsh, to embarrassed and shy as she spoke. After a second or two of looking like she regretted even opening her mouth, a soft smile worked it's way onto the dirty blond's face. "That said Lynne-san; You have also pulled everyone out of some rough spots as well. So don't sell yourself short." Lynne's eyes lit up in delight, and she turned to Nanoha and I with a confidence that hadn't been there before.

"My name is Lynette Bishop, but you can just call me Lynne." She said with a small bow. "I am a Flight Sergeant from Britannia. My familiar; a cat called a Scottish Fold grants me excellent eyesight for seeing over a great distance. As a result I serve as the squad's sharpshooter. My familiar also allows me to manipulate projectiles in flight, keeping them steady in flight, or altering their trajectory. I can also charge my bullets with magic to increase the damage they do. I'm a little clumsy, but I'll do my best to prove myself."

After a few hours of hijinx, interruptions and getting sidetracked, we were finally down to the last new edition of Section Six. The short brunette who seemed to be wearing the top half of a Japanese sailor uniform.

"My name Yoshika Miyafuji, a Sergeant from Fuso." She greeted with a smile. "My familiar is a breed of Shiba Inu called a Mameshiba. I named him Kuji Kanesada, or just Kuji for short. I inherited the same type of healing magic that both my mother and grandmother possess. I can also generate large strong shields. I am not fond of combat, but I have come to learn that I need to fight to protect those I love." Her chocolate brown eyes darted over to Lynne for a half second, before she once again focused on us. "That said, I will do anything to regain the strength to fight once more."

I raised an eyebrow.

'Regain.' what on earth did she mean by that? Before I could ask, Hayate intervened.

"As Commander of Section Six, I would like to welcome everyone to Mid-Childa. I would also like to thank you for lending TSAB your services. This mission is likely to be very dangerous, and as such will involve two different kinds of special training in order to prepare. Captain Takamachi will be handling the combat training. Kiseki-san will be in charge of the 'emotional' and psychological training."

I didn't like the way Hayate had said 'emotional' not one bit, nor did I like the evil grin that threatened to split Kiseki's face in half.

"That's right!" The golden eyed blond confirmed with way too much enthusiasm. "Kiseki's relationship counseling service is open for business!"

"WHAAAAAAAAT!?" Our collective outburst frightened birds from their nest all across the base.

Our group became a sea of red faces; Kiseki and Shizuru were the only ones who weren't blushing.

"Before any of you are ready to undertake this mission." Kiseki explained, suddenly dead serious. "And this includes you too Commander Yagami, you must first find the one person whom you would gladly give up your own life for. Al-Hazard has become a place that uses a person's worst fears to drive them to insanity. After a thousand years of life, I have found that nothing can keep a person grounded like love for another. That said, we will be undertaking this mission by sending half of Section Six to Al-Hazard first. I myself am unable to enter Al-Hazard, so I will remain with the other half of the group to provide any support I can."

"Why send only half?" Sayaka asked curiously.

"If anyone from the first group falls into insanity," Kiseki answered. "the other half of the pair would have to take their place. Additionally only someone who would be willing to risk their own life for the one they love would have a chance of saving them, completing the mission_ and _returning alive themselves. Now, for most of you, the choice is obvious. So I will be helping you with your relationships to ensure that they are strong enough to avoid the third outcome of undertaking this mission."

"Which would be?" Midori prodded. I'm pretty sure she knew the answer. I was sure we all knew the answer, we just needed to hear it out loud.

"That neither partner makes it back alive, dooming them both to a living hell of eternal torture."

I had known that was coming. But still, hearing it out loud; I couldn't help but gulp.

Looks like the stakes of this mission just went up.

...

AN: *Phew* That was a tricky one to sort out in my head. I hope it wasn't too hard to follow, but I should have known any chapter where I introduced the Strike Witches would be really long. For those who prefer shorter chapters: I apologize. I figured that more readers might be less familiar with the Strike Witches so I put more detail into their intros. If I was wrong in this presumption, I hope you will forgive me for going overboard with them. I guess another reason why getting this chapter out took forever is because it is so long.

On the bright side you could consider it a (Canadian) Thanksgiving present from me.

On the subject of the poll, I have decided to keep it up for a little longer. I will be closing the poll once Chapter 9 gets posted, and the winner will be joining in Chapter 10. For those of you who think I should stop trying to add more character to this story you can tell me so by voting. You can find the poll on my profile page, at u/4093415/Kiseki7757. Don't be shy, my profile won't bite.

I can't say when I will be able to get Chapter 8 out, but if my professors have mercy on me, (unlikely) it shouldn't be too long of a wait.

As always, read and review! I will see you all in Chapter 8.


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